2021-2022 Remote Work Statistics and What It Means

The year 2020’s first quarter was economically harrowing. We know COVID-19’s impact, ravaging global economies wreaking havoc across all sectors. It visited upon us plenty of uncertainty. Suffice it to say, employers from all over were not prepared. They scrambled to make ends meet while trying to keep production running even as massive layoffs were happening and exponential losses were being incurred. The year 2021, for lack of better descriptives, was dark.

As a form of the unforeseen positive by-product of the pandemic and the imposed lockdowns, remote work has become the norm across many institutions. Corporations, big and small companies, realized WFH setups are desirable, regardless of the type of data being handled by these private entities. Company owners, proprietors, and small startups are grateful to the technology for winning the seemingly impossible task of keeping people employed despite nationwide restrictions and limitations.

According to remote work statistics, things are turning out quite well to date. Firms handling big data and output may be released through the worldwide web. The WWF schemes were possible even in industries that were not expected or would not be able to meet the milestone. As the matter stands, ordinary workers are given plenty of venues to assume decent-paying jobs even with the outside world falling into chaos.

WFH Schemes Prospects

Given the premise, the question here is: would remote work still be viable within the coming years? Should this prove true, would it result in massive productivity?

Statistics always reveal what the situation is all about. So to help us with the cause of answering the inquiry effectively, let us look at a set of remote work statistics to make or break the argument that WFH schemes are suitable for professionals.

A study conducted by the internationally-recognized analytics platform Global Workplace Analytics stipulates: 25-30% of the working population would be confined in WFH setups by the end of 2021.

Meanwhile, freelancing site, Upwork, rolled out data where 1 out of 4 Americans transitioned into remote jobs toward the end of the current year. The freelancing platform presupposes 22% of the working population of roughly 36.2 Million American professionals would be taking on jobs completely in WFH setups by 2025.

The Becker Friedman Institute for Economics sampled over 10,000 employees who claimed they were just as effective at home as they are within the context of their previous work structure.

Thirty percent of the sampled population boldly claimed that they were better workers when they undertook their home jobs. The sampled population’s supposed commuting time was also subjected to a probe. Eliminating the time used to travel, employees saved millions of hours daily, amounting to 9 billion last year.

The Number of WFH Jobs

The United States’ current recorded workforce peaked at a total of 164.6 million in February 2020 before COVID-19’s complete takeover.

Meanwhile, the total number of those designated to establish their current jobs to remote setups amounted to over 4.7 million. And as this stands, 44% of the firms considered within the studies have not participated with the new trend of allowing their employees to go into remotely set up jobs. Meanwhile, only 16% of the sample chose to exclusively have their employee work from their own homes.

It is a figure supported by Owl Labs’ study. The institution’s sample, whose range is at 22 – 65 years of age, went on record saying they had indeed been subjected to occasional setups that saw them work remotely.

Figures on Companies Allowing Remote Work

Carrying on with the study of remote work statistics generated by Owl Labs the following had been gathered:

• A total of 40 minutes are saved from the lack of travel from house to office.
• Beginning in the year 2020, in the thick of the first blow of the Coronavirus infections, meetings administered through video calls have increased dramatically by 50%.
• In the same year, data were published on 70% of permanent workers who switched to remote work.
• After the pandemic’s first wave mellowed, 92% of the sampled population are still being considered in WFH schemes despite being asked to already work within their previous offices. Meanwhile, 80% will still be required to be at home at least two days in an average workweek.
• In a surprising declaration of data, 23% expressed they are allowing themselves to accept a pay cut of 10% just so a permanent WFH scheme would be granted. When we are talking about saving money, it has been found out that a layman, a common American employee earning an average salary, may save a decent $500 monthly, as they are no longer required to travel to work. Savings have thus totaled to almost $6000 yearly.
• A recorded 20-25% of institutions compensate part of what forms the total overheads spent on buying office effects.
• An optimistic 81% of the sample strongly believes that the companies they work for will support WFH setups even after the pandemic completely dies down.
• 59% of the respondents said: they would opt to look for employers who would be more than willing to lay down provisions for WFH schemes.

All these figures indicate things that we would want to hear as they are highly desirable work conditions.

How does a Remote Job Affect Productivity?

Remote work statistics are clear: people who had either chosen to work within their homes or those designated as a matter of requirement have been proved to be, albeit not all the time, highly productive.

According to Upwork discovery, a notable 22.5% of sampled managers and supervisors claimed a decline in the larger frame of productivity as opposed to 32.2% of Hiring Managers who declared that productivity went up when they had allowed their employees to commence remote jobs since the beginning of the lockdowns.

A Stanford study shows employees’ performances went up 22% when designated to work in their homes.

Mercer, a consultancy firm for human resources, conducted a study with 800 employers. Among 94% rate of effectiveness at work even excelled than the previously recorded upon commencing remote jobs.

The Reason behind Heightened Productivity

Workers who had started WFH are inclined to establish greater effectiveness in not having to travel and not being compelled to engage in small talk. Also significant in the study is the worker’s allowance of spending more time with family and working out, which leads to sounder mental health and balanced polarity of the two lives they manage.

Job satisfaction is owed to factors such as getting good pay and an optimal work environment. With the remote job scheme, employee turnover is kept at bay as they can enjoy their current professional freedom.

Meanwhile, with referrals, employees who are allowed to abide by the WFH business model are more likely to refer friends. But there is another question worth asking.

Are the Remote Employees Happy?

Owl Labs’ third survey strongly suggests professional happiness in light of the possibility of staying within a job longer. Each employee greatly appreciates the possibility of doing an otherwise stressful office job at home. This results in two notable things: their gratitude to their employers and their willingness to stay in the job longer. Another 22% figure has been revealed to illustrate their satisfaction of working as opposed to those who were working in their original offices.

Lower stress levels have been determined among employees who have been designated or chosen WFH schemes. As already made apparent through the preceding discussions, this is because of more invigorated balance in the workers’ lives. These employees experience less management stress, leading them to establish greater successes.

By looking at the numbers of remote work statistics, designating people to home setups is the resolve we are looking for in the issue of making people stay at their jobs. But companies who still opt to have their workers on-site are looking into a hybrid model to allow people to come in on special days and retain the remote job for the rest of the week.

Recently, employees from the Philippines asked to go back on-site, but only on the condition they report for at least 2 to 3 days to the office on special days. Some offices opted to have their workers report for a week and then spend the entirety of the work year working in their homes. It is the hybrid working model in light of the fusion between working remotely and working in the office. The measures taken here are the same as those taken during the strength of the pandemic. However, with the Omicron variant making waves, the model may be subjected to compromise. Nonetheless, this is something worth looking into.

WFH Advantages for Companies and Employees

Global Workplace Analytics’ data show the ability of employers to cut costs and ultimately save $11,000 yearly for every employee they employ in light of the new business model. The savings are derived from lowered costs, especially office rent, maintenance fees like electricity and water, reduced absenteeism, and increased productivity.

On the employee side, their savings lie within a $2,500 to $4,000 range yearly. They cut costs on gas, fare, food, clothes, among other things. Remote Working Models Impact the Environment Positively.

Reduced commutes from the average employee mean fewer cars on the streets. This is highly significant as data from the EPA show transportation as the cause of 28% of greenhouse gas emissions looking at the United States alone.

More figures illustrate that light-duty vehicles like cars constitute 59% of these emissions while industry-standard trucks are 23%. According to the United States Census Bureau data, Eighty-six of the commuting population uses private automobiles to work.

Fewer cars and therefore less greenhouse gas emissions bear good effects on global infrastructure, which is owed to remote schemes all humans, working or non-working, can benefit from.

Do Remote Workers Want to Go Back to the Office?

According to a survey by communication platform Slack, an estimate of 9,000 workers are willing to submit themselves to a Hybrid working model; 12% of Slack’s on-site. Slack notes that 13% of the sampled population desired to carry on with the remote arrangements even if the pandemic was completely obliterated.

The PwC had conducted a survey of the same nature on 1,200 American employees and 120 supervisors in the United States. Near 73% of respondents had recorded successes across all their professional endeavors while working on a remote setup.

The survey also uncovered 72% of these workers desire to adopt the Hybrid model, despite being asked to come into the office on special days. Meanwhile, 32% expressed they would opt to carry on with the remote setup for keeps. Thirty percent of professionals within the survey said they would need less spending on office effects within the next three years.

WTH Business Model is Moving Forward

A buzz-worthy topic among professionals, WFH setups are evidently geared to remain a steady footing in the industry within the next ten years. Below are several predictions rendering the WFH business model’s permanency.

Upwork recorded over a thousand hiring managers are planning to generate more jobs in the next few years. Of the sampled population, 61.9% of companies are in the growth projection, looking past COVID-19 as they permanently adopt the WFH business model. Predictions within the same research posit: 36.2 million workers are set to work exclusively through remote setups by 2025, a notable 87% climb from data before the pandemic.

Global Workplace Analytics found 56% of W2 employees, roughly 75 million professionals, will eventually adopt remote setups provided there is approval from their superiors. Twenty to thirty-five percent of the professionals are projected to be in the WFH model for a considerable time before 2021 ends.

In a statement, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said that half of the working population would transition into remote job by 2030, a projection owed to several WFH-related benefits such as cutting office costs and environmental benefits.

Wrapping up on Remote Work Statistics

Whether or not employers are primed to have their employees work remotely or from their homes, the business model would probably be a mainstay across industries, including IT, sales or services. However, employers prefer to be subject to it but do not have access to such setups or are not allowed to. Rigorous analysis is not needed to figure out the daily need for on-site employees in the service, retail, and construction industries.

On the other hand, more research in remote work statistics would be conducted to render new figures on the WFH model. New tech would be integral alongside new strategies.

Employers need to find a balance between on-site and WFH forces to render potentially greater productivity. Establishing such will provide leverage and an edge over competitors.