Before the pandemic, remote work was a perk few most innovative companies offered to their employees. After the pandemic, it has become a global reality. 2020 forced employers into this revolutionary change, and the ‘consequences’ will echo long into the future. True, many had to make serious adjustments technology-wise to enable this transition. Remote work statistics show employers are embracing permanently the flexible and remote way of working across the world now. Read on for more info on this topic.
Remote Work Statistics (Editor’s Choice)
- 61% of workers are ready to accept a pay cut to maintain the remote work status. (The Guardian)
- 90% of remote workers claim their productivity level to be the same as working from the office. (Owl Labs)
- 75% of people prefer remote work because there are fewer distractions. (Findstack)
- Employees working from home are 22% happier than their colleagues at the office. (Apollo Technical)
- 48% of workers with flexible hours say they have an excellent work-life balance. (FlexJobs)
- 16% of global companies are fully remote. (Findstack)
- By 2025, 70% of the workforce will work remotely, at least five days per month. (Forbes)
- 73% of employees who worked from home during the pandemic now work from the office at least once a week. (Owl Labs)
General Remote Work Stats
1. Since 2009, the number of remote workers has increased by 159%.
Remote work has been continuously rising since the beginning of the last decade. However, what really fostered the rapid growth of this model is the technology, allowing people to work from anywhere, using different tools like remote desktop software. Another driver of this expansion is the rising number of people who appreciate flexibility and work-life balance.
(Findstack)
2. 61% of workers are ready to accept a pay cut to maintain the remote work status.
Employees, in most cases, are prepared to accept even a pay cut to keep on working from home. Also, remote work statistics show that about 70% of surveyed employees would renounce benefits like health insurance or paid time off just to keep working remotely.
(The Guardian)
3. 72% of workers prefer the hybrid model.
Only 12% of workers surveyed in six countries by Slack confirmed they prefer working in an office setting. Most of the others like the hybrid model, and just 13% would always work from home if given a choice. Based on a similar survey only among executives, 73% confirmed that remote work has proved successful.
(Apollo Technical)
4. 90% of remote workers claim they have the same or higher productivity level as those working from an office.
In view of remote work statistics, most employees believe they work the same or even longer hours remotely. In fact, 56% cited working more hours from home than in an actual office. Alternatively, 33% believe they work the same hours as in the office, while 12% believe they work fewer hours than in the office.
(Owl Labs)
5. 30% of surveyed US employees claimed they were more productive and engaged while working remotely.
Becker Friedman Institute for Economics surveyed 10,000 employees to determine if there is a connection between remote working and productivity. Statistics confirmed that almost a third of all workers felt more engaged and productive working from home.
(Apollo Technical)
6. 22.5% of managers claim that the productivity among their workers decreased.
Although the number of workers who claim their productivity remained the same or increased is high, some managers disagree with this. Approximately 22.5% said their workers were less productive, while 32.2% agreed with their employees.
(Apollo Technical)
7. 75% of people prefer remote work because there are fewer distractions.
Loud colleagues and open space offices often don’t provide an ideal environment for fully productive workers. Hence, the majority of workers like remote work because they don’t have to deal with this. Ultimately, every employer counts on telecommuting productivity, statistics confirm.
(Findstack)
8. 69% of millennials will exchange benefits for a better and more flexible workspace.
Many studies cover specific segments of the general workforce, such as Millennials. One interesting result spans all findings. Millennials are eager to trade some work benefits for certain flexibility in return.
(CBRE)
9. Due to remote work, the average US worker saves $4,500 on fuel per year.
The average American spends 30 minutes commuting, on top of transportation costs. Remote working stats suggest that employees save money on fuel, repair costs, and maintenance by switching to remote work. For instance, remote workers spend $55 per month on maintenance costs vs. $59 for office workers. Equally important is the direct positive impact on the environment with fewer people taking buses, cars, and trains to get to work.
(Business News Daily)
10. Google is threatening their workers with up to a 25% pay cut if they choose to work from home for good.
Some big companies, especially in the tech area, have begun conditioning their employees’ permanent remote work status. They are threatening them with significant pay cuts to prevent them from choosing this option permanently. But workers are ready to sacrifice even a 50% pay cut, in some cases, just to keep this status, remote working statistics show.
(The Guardian)
11. 20-25% of companies pay or participate in the costs of home office equipment.
Not many employers are eager to help their employees pay the costs of setting up a home office. This often includes furniture, internet, and similar expenses. Employees, however, feel they should receive more support since working from home.
(Apollo Technical)
12. 86% of commuters drive some sort of a vehicle to work.
According to the EPA, that means more greenhouse gas emissions (28% in the US). For example, cars make up 59%, while trucks account for 23% of emissions. On the other hand, the rise of telecommuting means fewer cars and cleaner air, all thanks to work from home, statistics show.
(Apollo Technical)
13. Facebook expects 50% of its workforce to become remote in the next ten years.
Facebook’s CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, confirmed that 50,000 of the giant’s workforce would start shifting toward work from home permanently. It’s expected that half of them will become remote by 2030. Facebook is not alone in this endeavor. This radical change could affect other companies, particularly the San Francisco Bay Area, currently hosting many of these tech giants.
(NBC News)
14. Healthcare has the highest number of online workers, or 15%.
Although digital and tech companies are primarily associated with working online (web development, content creation, and similar), healthcare has the highest number of remote workers. Following healthcare, technology is the next industry with 10% remote workers. Financial services are third with 9%, remote workforce statistics reveal.
(Findstack)
15. Companies that foster remote work register a $2,000 average profit increase per worker.
Employees are not the only ones to benefit from the remote working policies. Companies are obtaining the maximum from their workers, and their profits are rising. Aside from increasing productivity, not having the employees in the office means fewer bills for rent or supplies to pay and more savings.
(Victory Workspace)
16. Smaller businesses are two times more likely to hire people full-time remotely.
Small companies benefit more from hiring full-time remote workers, in line with remote work trends. At the same time, full-time remote workers have two times more chances to be individual contributors than management.
(Owl Labs)
17. 85% of managers expect mixed teams with remote and in-office workers to become the norm.
Some managers might still doubt remote work benefits and consider a form of hybrid arrangement in the future. Further, they believe mixed teams of in-office and fully remote workers will be the norm in the future. This, however, will bring some challenges and the need to transform the leadership.
(Clear World)
18. Due to tracking tools, up to 93% of American employees receive their paychecks on time.
Remote working, statistics suggest, has become easier thanks to many tools that foster the business as usual. For example, preparing payroll is hard enough, and it can be twice as difficult without billable hours. However, companies have improved this process using time tracking tools. Yet, despite the time tracking software, only 60% of employees are very certain their deductions and net pay are accurate.
(FinancesOnline)
19. 64% use the work-from-home policy as a pitch to recruit potential new talent.
Many recruiters use work-from-home policies to drive new talent to apply to their company. Most of these candidates, especially high-quality ones, would prefer to be remote workers, statistics show. Hence, companies with ads that focus on this manage to attract respectable candidates.
(Findstack)
20. 74% of employees said remote work is more likely to keep them in the company.
A strong company culture that supports remote work is hard to build. Without it, many workers are more likely to resign, though. According to retention statistics, most people are less likely to do that if their managers support remote work.
(Findstack)
21. About 87% of remote workers receive regular training.
Many companies are investing in employee training even more than before. So Siemens, for example, invests around $500 million in employee training yearly. Stats on remote work suggest that 70% of remote workers receive training directly from their companies, while others find it online and pay for it. However, 67% of remote employees feel they need more specific and task-oriented training. About 50% take online courses; 22% use mobile phones to learn, while 13% attend webinars. The rest, 15%, learn from seminars.
(TalentLMS)
22. Remote workers are 16% less likely to agree that managers include them in the goal-setting process.
Remote work statistics suggest that one of the main issues in remote work is the lack of direct communication. Consequently, managers often fail to involve employees in the goal-setting process, and employees don’t feel involved enough. This affects the employee engagement rate and, by default, productivity and overall morale.
(Findstack)
23. 90% of IT professionals believe that remote workers present a security risk.
Although many IT security experts believe that remote work could pose a serious threat to their organizations in cyberspace, they also understand that it is here to stay. Moreover, 92% concur with the statement that remote work benefits outweigh the risks. Nevertheless, according to remote working statistics, 54% of IT experts believe remote employees present a far greater risk than onsite workers. On top of this, 73% of executives in this field also feel concerned about this workforce’s risk.
(OpenVPN)
24. 65% of respondents will move if they manage to obtain permanent remote worker status.
Plenty of workers contemplate the decision to move if they find a full-time remote job. Moreover, the quality of life (56%) is one of the main factors influencing their decision. Also, lower costs of living and housing (45%), and better climate (35%), also play significant roles, remote work stats suggest.
(FlexJobs)
25. 4.5% of US renters, if priced out of their homes, could buy property somewhere else thanks to their remote work.
With the continuous rise of rent, the costs of living for some workers are getting too high. According to property management statistics, many workers desire to spread out in larger spaces or escape high housing costs. Hence, remote work plays a vital role, allowing them to purchase starter homes somewhere else in the US, where it’s not that expensive.
(FlexJobs)
Remote Work and Mental Health Statistics
26. 77% of workers said working from home after the pandemic would make them happier.
Even though the current work model from home was forced upon companies due to the pandemic, workers solved work-life balance problems better. Thanks to technology, such as video conferencing software, they could continue working while maintaining the balance. Therefore, most of them believe that even after COVID-19 has passed, they would like to have the option to work remotely and maintain a level of happiness at the workplace.
(Owl Labs)
27. Employees working from home are 22% happier than their colleagues at the office.
Statistics on remote work suggest that working from home brings more happiness to the workers than being onsite. For instance, remote employees register less stress and better work-life balance, not to mention a higher focus on daily tasks. Moreover, remote workers worked over 40 hours a week, 43% more than those who never worked remotely.
(Apollo Technical)
28. One in five employees said their company’s biggest mistake was failing to offer mental health support.
The work environment substantially impacts an employee’s mental and emotional health and development. Therefore, as remote work stats demonstrate, it’s not a surprise that 18% of workers think their companies failed to provide this kind of support during the pandemic. Further, flexible work options contribute to better mental health. Employees who don’t have access to flexible hours are two times more likely to have poor mental health.
(FlexJobs)
29. 48% of those who have flexible working hours say their work-life balance is excellent.
Statistics suggest that employees are happier about their work-life balance when working from home. Besides those feeling their work-life balance is very good, 54% claim they have emotional support at their workplace. Alternatively, 36% of those who don’t have flexible work options would say the same about their work-life balance, and 45% would respond equally about emotional support. Likewise, three-quarters of respondents believe stress at the workplace impacts their mental health and raises anxiety. In fact, 17% strongly agree with this.
(FlexJobs)
30. 91.5% of remote workers manage to participate in wellness activities.
Compared to their remote counterparts, 81.5% of office workers find time for wellness. Engaging in wellness activities contributes to remote work productivity, statistics show. Namely, we are talking about 24% productivity growth in some cases. Further, 91% of remote employees who have demonstrated a productivity rise and efficiency in the last couple of months are all engaged in wellness activities.
(Intuition)
31. 22% of workers said unplugging after work is the main issue they face while working remotely.
Stopping with work and disconnecting after working hours is the biggest hurdle in remote workers’ professional life. It’s because employees often feel guilty about being distracted and want to make up for it, remote work statistics show. Moreover, it’s easier to stop working from an office and leave than at home. Self-evaluation is another challenge, followed by low face-to-face communication. After all, in-person communication is 34 times more effective than emails. Finally, trust is another crucial issue remote workers face.
(Otter)
Global Statistics About Remote Work
32. 16% of global companies are 100% remote.
It’s a pretty low figure, yet it’s one of the best indicators of the remote work revolution. These companies don’t even have any offices now, which was unimaginable a few decades ago. This number is only set to grow, with the pandemic accelerating this approach.
(Findstack)
33. 40% of Canadian jobs could be performed from home.
Based on some recent research and remote work statistics, Canada has 40% of jobs that could be switched to remote completely. Around six out of ten workers with a bachelor’s degree or higher (59%) could work from home, which could apply to only 10% of workers that have no high school diploma. Similar to distinctions based on the education level, the percentage varies across different industries too. So 85% of insurance, finances, science, technical, and professional services workers could work from home. On the contrary, only one in ten (6%) in accommodation and food services can say the same.
(Statistics Canada)
34. In 2020, the percentage of workers in France who could work from home reached 29.4%.
In line with remote working stats, following France, potential remote workers climbed to 22.8% in Germany, 15.1% in Spain, and 13.6% in Italy. Considering it was the beginning of the pandemic and the restrictive and distancing measures had just been imposed, these numbers grew more in the following months.
(Statista)
35. An average of 37% of Brits worked from home in 2020.
Compared to 2019, this number grew by 10%. In 2019, 27% worked from home at some point, remote work statistics for the UK show. Those working in London were most likely to have worked from home and the ones between 30 and 49 years old. 45% of them reported working from home, as did 34% aged between 16 to 29, and 32% aged between 50 to 69 years.
(ONS)
36. Three-fourths of Indian employees would like to have flexible remote work options.
In line with recent findings, the Indian workforce is quite keen on remote work (74%), remote work statistics confirm. Despite this, 73% of Indians also wish for in-person working time to reconnect with their colleagues. Around 73% of the companies contemplate redesigning the office space to integrate hybrid work models and answer their needs better.
(Mint)
37. Four in five businesses in Australia expect the remote work to become permanent.
Even when the offices open again across the nation, 80% of Australian companies expect to maintain remote work options for their workers. One indicator that speaks mostly in favor of this is their well-being. In line with remote work statistics, Australia is registering an uptick in employee well-being in 45% of its companies.
(The Chainsaw)
38. 36.2 million Americans are expected to work remotely by 2025.
In five years, the number of Americans working from home is expected to double compared to the one before the pandemic. For reference, there were 18.6 million remote workers in the US before the pandemic.
(Small Business Trends)
Remote Work Statistics During Covid-19
39. By 2025, 70% of the workforce will work remotely, at least five days per month.
Despite the pandemic slowing down during some months in 2021 and 2022, the workforce is expected to continue working remotely. In 2021, the number of remote workers was supposed to double, according to some predictions. Another report confirmed that 74% of CFOs planned to shift employees to remote work in the long term even after COVID-19.
(Forbes)
40. On average, remote employees worked additional 26 hours each month during COVID-19.
According to remote work statistics before and after COVID-19, remote workers used to have fewer working hours before the pandemics. However, during COVID-19, one in five people said they worked more. Besides other changes related to work, overworking is one of the downsides. Therefore, managers must support their teams and promote a healthy work-life balance.
(Owl Labs)
41. 73% of employees who worked from home during the pandemic returned to the office at least once a week.
Remote work statistics indicate that employees’ expectations have drastically changed since the pandemic. So, many prefer to have the choice to come (or not) to the office. Many returned to the office at least once a week, while 25% did once a month. Namely, 78% feel more included while working in the office, and 57% claim they prefer working from home.
(Owl Labs)
42. Commuting time was reduced by 62.4 million hours per day between March and September 2020.
In line with remote working statistics, homeworking reduced the hours spent commuting. This resulted in nine billion hours of saved time during the same period. Moreover, 55% of the surveyed respondents claim they put in more hours while homeworking than at the office. Further, only 36% of people think the office is best for individual work.
(Apollo Technical)
43. 29% of business leaders haven’t taken any measures to track the productivity of remote workers.
After most of the workforce moved online due to the pandemic and the recent push toward the hybrid work model, the issue of measuring remote employees’ productivity popped up. Only 13% of leaders mentioned some concerns over keeping up productivity levels. Remote work statistics confirm that 61% of them introduced more frequent manager-employee check-ins. Maintaining the corporate culture is another significant challenge, at least according to 30% of business leaders.
(HROne)
Wrap Up
With the proliferation of technology, especially after the pandemic, more employers are open to remote work benefits. Suddenly the pool of available workers and skills has become far wider, and one can recruit globally and telecommute to connect with the entire organization. Even though there are always people who prefer working from an office, homeworking is here to stay, and these remote work statistics confirm it. Still, employers might opt for some sort of hybrid work model that will satisfy the entire workforce’s needs. But, of course, it has to be one that will help them achieve their business goals without disruption.
