It was expected that by 2025[1], remote work would become the new norm, but the ongoing pandemic has forced most companies to go remote five years too early. While organizations struggled to keep up in the first few months of going remote, most have now become comfortable with remote work.
Business leaders are also realizing that remote work isn’t just a temporary phase meant for companies to survive the pandemic. Remote work is here to stay. It is the future of work and it will become the new normal.
If you are looking to work remotely full-time or hire remote employees, you will want to take some time out to do your own research. Here are some shocking (but also not so shocking) work from home Statistics.
Work From Home Statistics
1. Remote work has increased by 173 percent between 2005 and 2018
With faster internet, more advanced personal laptops, and digitization of most job roles, work from home (WFH Meaning) has been on a steep upward trajectory in the last 15 years. Remote work has grown by 173 percent[2] since 2005, about 11 percent faster than the rest of the workforce.
2. 56 percent of companies allow remote work
More than half[3] of the global companies offer remote work perks to their employees. While only 16 percent of these are fully remote companies, others are hybrid companies that have both office-going employees and remote employees.
3. 88 percent of global organizations offered remote work options to employees during the pandemic
After COVID-19 was declared as a global pandemic, most governments around the world imposed strict lockdowns and as a direct result, over 88 percent[4] of organizations either encouraged their employees to work from home to limit the spread of the virus. Moreover, up to 97 percent of organizations canceled work-related travel for employees.
4. 52 percent of people work remotely at least once a week
While the number of office-going employees was still higher than remote workers before the pandemic, over 52 percent[5] of people still ended up working remotely at least once a week and 68 percent worked remotely at least once every month
5. Companies that offer remote work have 25 percent lower employee turnover rate
It’s clear that employees prefer and appreciate remote work. The percentage of employees leaving the organization over a fixed period of time decreases by 25 percent for companies that support and offer remote work.
6. Small companies are two times more likely to hire fully remote employees
Due to more flexibility, restricted office spaces, and a more open mindset, small companies are 2x more[6] likely to hire remote employees as compared to enterprises. Moreover, fully remote and distributed companies take 33 percent less time to find and hire a new employee.
7. 4.7 million people already worked from home even before the pandemic
Remote work may seem like a new trend of 2020, but according to the data issued by the US Census Bureau and the Bureau of Labor Statistics, over 4.7 million people in the US, that make up for 3.4 percent of the workforce, were already working remotely way even before the COVID-19 enforced lockdowns.
8. 51 percent of employees prefer remote work because it improves work-life balance
51 percent of employees believe remote work helps improve their work-life balance, 47 percent like skipping the everyday morning commute, and 25 percent are able to achieve more financial stability by working remotely.
9. 75 percent of employees are less distracted at home
Here’s a surprising stat that you might not have seen coming — Even with the house chores, roommates, family members and pets, 75 percent of people find themselves less distracted working from home than they would be in an office.
10. 76 percent prefer to avoid office when they need to concentrate on an important task
Employees see the office as a place full of distractions instead of a space where they can sit by themselves to focus on work. Over 76 percent[9] avoid the office altogether when they really need to focus on an important project or task.
11. 77 percent of remote employees are more productive when they work from home
While most people assume working from home can be immensely distracting and affect work performance, numbers say otherwise. Over 77 percent[10] of remote employees claim that they are actually more productive when they work from home.
12. 37 percent of remote employees take regular breaks to stay productive
Working alone, all by yourself, can quickly get monotonous and boring which can inadvertently affect your productivity and efficiency. That is why 37 percent[11] of remote employees prefer to take regular breaks so that they can stay productive and perform their best work, all throughout the day.
13. 20 percent of remote employees find it difficult to cope with loneliness
For remote employees, loneliness is one of the biggest[12] struggles while working from home which has only worsened over the last few months due to lockdowns and quarantine regulations. Other major challenges of remote work include communication issues, inability to unplug from work, and being in a different timezone than the rest of the team members.
14. Flexible schedule is the biggest benefit of working remotely
Over 40 percent of people prefer remote work because of the flexibility that it offers. You can walk your dog, go for a morning walk, have a long breakfast with your family, and even go for a quick grocery run when you work from home on a more flexible schedule.
15. 99 percent of people want to work remotely at least once in their life
99 percent of people, irrespective of their job roles and industries, want to try out remote work at least at some point in their career. While remote work is just seen as a passing trend, this stat goes to prove that employees are way more interested in remote work than most assume.
16. Remote work makes 81 percent of employees recommend their company to others
When employees are happy and satisfied with their jobs, they tend to recommend it to others as well. As a result, 81 percent[13] of employees say that remote working perks would make them more likely to recommend their organization to other prospects and job candidates in their network.
17. 54 percent of office employees would leave their job for one that offers remote work
More than half[14] of office employees would readily switch jobs for one that offered the option to work remotely. As remote work becomes more common, organizations that cannot offer it will become unusual and struggle to retain top talent.
18. 25 percent of employees would take up to 10 percent pay cut to work remotely
Money is no longer the main deciding factor for employees looking for a job change. They would rather take a 10 percent[15] pay cut than work for an organization that doesn’t offer remote work. On the contrary, 74 percent of employees are less likely to leave their jobs if they have a remote work option.
19. Remote employees are less stressed and healthier
80 percent of employees are less stressed about their jobs when they work from home. Moreover, 86 percent claim that they are able to better take care of themselves which directly leads to improved health and decreased sick days.
20. World War II helped set the stage for the modern and connected remote workers
The reason we are able to work from home is because we have access to personal computers, laptops, and of course the mighty internet. But it may be surprising to know that the world’s first digital computer was actually invented during World War II to crack coded messages.
It’s time to embrace work from home
It’s clear from all of these statistics that work from home isn’t just the newest buzzword which will disappear once we get past the pandemic. It is here to stay and the momentum for it has been building up slowly over the years. For companies, that means, creating long-term remote work strategies to engage their current workforce and attract new talent successfully. For employees that means acquiring new skills that can help them succeed in the remote work environment.
