How remote work is connecting $19-an-hour, $80,000-a-year workers (2023)

FAQs

How much has remote work increased during the pandemic? ›

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2021 Business Response Survey to the Coronavirus Pandemic. Among the 6 percent of establishments that relocated since the start of the pandemic, 58 percent increased telework, compared with 32 percent among establishments that did not relocate.

Several studies over the past few months show productivity while working remotely from home is better than working in an office setting. On average, those who work from home spend 10 minutes less a day being unproductive, work one more day a week, and are 47% more productive.

Outside research, including a monthly survey of workers from researchers at Stanford University and the Census Bureau's household survey, indicate that remote work remains prevalent, with Stanford's finding that it accounts for over a quarter of paid full-time workdays in the United States, just slightly down from 33 ...

Buffer's 2023 State of Remote Work report found that 91 percent of survey respondents enjoyed working remotely, with flexibility listed as the biggest benefit. Additionally, in 2022, McKinsey surveyed 25,000 workers across a range of industries about their remote work experience.

But a Stanford professor says working from home is still alive and well, despite what the government's data says. More than 72% of firms said employees worked remotely rarely or not at all last year, according to the Labor Department's new release, up from just over 60.1% in 2021.

About a third of U.S. workers who can work from home now do so all the time. Roughly three years after the COVID-19 pandemic upended U.S. workplaces, about a third (35%) of workers with jobs that can be done remotely are working from home all of the time, according to a new Pew Research Center survey.

A survey report conducted by Owl labs suggests remote workers are happier and stay in their jobs longer. They also found that workers who were working at home reported being happy 22% more than workers who always work in an onsite office environment.

Remote work can offer several benefits for employee satisfaction, such as increased flexibility, autonomy, and work-life balance. Employees can choose when, where, and how they work, according to their preferences and needs.

As long as Millennials are the largest workforce, remote work isn't going anywhere, so companies should be ready to adapt in 2023 and beyond. In the coming years, remote work opportunities will have to meet the demands and expectations of increasingly working Millennials.

How many hours a week do remote workers actually work? ›

But it's not always M-F, 9-5. Some employers will set their own fixed schedule, which might be influenced by their industry or specific needs. Generally, though, you'll find yourself working the typical five days a week, eight hours a day.

Skills are Lost

They're afraid that the skills and knowledge that an employee would gain from working in an office will not transfer to working from home, which could lead to quality problems and mistakes being made. It's true: when you're in an office all day, you end up only interacting with the people who are there.

Three years later, employee tracking via tools like video feeds and keystroke monitoring software are in fact the norm, according to a new survey of 1,000 companies with remote or hybrid workforces. Only 10% of remote companies monitored employees before the COVID-19 pandemic.

Employee reimbursements by state

Employers must reimburse California employees for all necessary expenses, including those incurred at the employer's direction. Necessary expenses include internet access and phone bills for remote workers. According to state law, necessary expenditures include all reasonable costs.

Gartner estimates that by the end of 2023, 48% of knowledge workers around the world will work either fully remotely (9%) or in a hybrid arrangement (39%). In the US, fully remote and hybrid workers are expected to account for 71% of the workforce in 2023.

REMOTE WORK IN 2023

Many businesses want workers to return to full-time in-office schedules and with the absence of stay-at-home orders there has been a decline in remote work but experts expect that decline to stall and have about 20% of full workdays to be from home in the post-pandemic economy.

While work from home offers efficiency and avoids a long commute, office work provides a better environment for communication, collaboration and overall growth of one's career. Working from home presents us with the opportunity to have a balanced work-life while still being successful professionally.

The data suggests that remote work is here to stay. The terms “remote work jobs” and “work from home jobs” have hit their highest Google Trends search for all time in January 2023, indicating an enthusiasm and desire among job seekers for these positions.

The pandemic-era trend of working from home remains a key feature of the U.S. job market — and is likely to stay entrenched as a permanent perk for a broad swath of the American workforce, according to labor economists.

Do employees want to go back to the office? ›

Employees Seek a 'Mix' of Subhead

Nearly a quarter (24%) of employees reported they'd be willing to return to the office full-time if their company provided their ideal work experience mix, and almost half (42%) said they'd come in one more day each week, according to the survey.

Although remote working has generally been proven to improve work-life balance and happiness, research consistently shows isolation is one of its biggest drawbacks. Over a third of those working remotely said the setup made them feel lonely, in Glassdoor's 2022 survey of people in full-time employment.

Eliminate Workspace Stressors

In contrast, working remotely generally allows for a quieter, more subdued atmosphere, reducing the likelihood of sensory overload and the associated feelings of stress and anxiety.

Many people who work from home often struggle with maintaining a good work/life balance. This is because it can be easy to blur the line between the two, especially when your workplace is in your living room, bedroom, or in the palm of your hands.

Productivity and organization

It's difficult to stick to a schedule and get all the tasks done. But this gets even harder for remote workers. Managing your to-dos can be challenging when you work from home and have such a flexible routine and distractions. An organized schedule is critical to staying productive.

A partner who is given temporary access to the network while visiting the main office. A CEO using VPN to securely connect to the network from home. A guest auditor working from the data center. An IT director getting caught up on email using while waiting for a flight.

Based on this research, recruiters and hiring managers should consider that there is a personality type that is more suited to virtual working. Generally, the best virtual workers are extroverted, highly social, collaborative, organized, self-reliant, self-motivated, and comfortable with ambiguity.

You can complete more work tasks and assignments.

And a 2021 survey of remote workers found that 6 in 10 reported they're more productive working from home than they expected to be because they don't have the commute and may be getting a better night's sleep.

However, the opposite is true. In fact, remote workers appear to be working longer hours while enjoying a healthier work-life balance and reduced stress. Remote workers are working longer hours. Ergotron's study found that 40% of employees work longer hours at home than when in the office.

Which companies still allow remote work? ›

Key findings: 66% of employers currently require employees to work from office. 90% of companies will require employees to return to office in 2023. 21% of companies will fire workers who do not return to the office.

Employers are forcing their employees back to the office to impose control over workers, but they are failing to recognize that remote work enables worker power. In fact, remote work is empowering workers by giving them more control over their lives and work.

Typical Costs of a Remote Work Stipend

In Build Remote records they suggest the average lump sum for a WFH stipend is around $800, while an average monthly WFH stipend is $160. Therefore, the WFH stipend amount can vary a lot from company to company.

The final verdict: choose your best day

If every day is essentially the same, and you only have one day a week to work remotely, Wednesdays are your best bet. If you have two days to work remotely per week, test out a Tuesday and Thursday schedule and see how it feels to space out your in-person days.

That being said, if the question is: Should I expect a pay cut if I want to work remotely? In general, the answer is no.” This advice can be applied to workers who want to keep their job but also want to transition to a fully remote or hybrid arrangement.

Peter Cappelli, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School of Business, argues that young professionals have less engagement, less commitment to their organization and more social isolation while working remotely, putting them at disadvantage for promotions and other career development opportunities ...

Working from home provides many benefits, such as making employees happier and more productive. One of the best things about remote work is that it makes employees more loyal.

Can my boss watch me on camera all day? ›

Many employers use video cameras to prevent internal theft, security purposes, and to have a record of any employee accident or injury. Most video surveillance in the workplace is permissible when the employers notify workers about the surveillance.

Can my employer monitor me from a work computer through a built-in camera? A: YES, your employer can monitor you from a workplace computer through a built-in camera. To do this, special monitoring software has to be installed on your computer. Although this is not a common practice, some employers in the US do this.

According to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), “if an employer gives notice to its employees that they should have no expectation of privacy in the workplace, then it may conduct video and audio monitoring of work areas and employee conversations.” In other words, your boss can listen in on work- ...

One way to master paying remote employees is to work with a global PEO firm to which you can outsource your payroll. A comprehensive global PEO like Horizons will offer full, global payroll and employment compliance services in the countries where your remote employees live and work from.

Generally speaking, your employer has a duty of care to ensure the health, safety, and welfare of all of their employees. However, they do not have a responsibility to cover the costs of your remote work equipment or provide it themselves.

The essential pieces of remote office equipment are a computer, a phone, and a dependable internet connection. These three elements are vital to any work-from-home setup. Reliability is critical for office equipment, and it's important to consider this in every aspect of your home office.

15, 2022 – Between 2019 and 2021, the number of people primarily working from home tripled from 5.7% (roughly 9 million people) to 17.9% (27.6 million people), according to new 2021 American Community Survey (ACS) 1-year estimates released today by the U.S. Census Bureau.

Conclusion. Remote work is gaining momentum, driven by the pandemic and the demand for talent. This has created an opportunity for businesses to embrace remote work and create strategies to recruit remote talent.

In a remote workers survey from February 2023, the Pew Research Center found that now approximately 35% of US employees work remotely all the time. Although this is a 46% decline compared to data from January 2022, remote work has still changed how people perceive and complete work.

This same report predicts 36.2 million workers or 22% of Americans will be working remotely by the year 2025. This is an 87% increase from pre-pandemic levels. Global Workplace Analytics estimates that 56% of W2 workers or 75 million employers could work from home if their employers allowed it.

What are the benefits of remote work? ›

Remote and flexible schedules not only provide employees with job satisfaction, better health, increased work-life fit, and less stress, but they also benefit employers through higher productivity levels, decreased turnover, and reduced absenteeism.

Remote work is often seen as beneficial for the employee, but it can also have many benefits for the employer. Among them are higher retention levels, increased brand awareness, better communication, improved employee morale and higher productivity.

Gartner estimates that by the end of 2023, 48% of knowledge workers around the world will work either fully remotely (9%) or in a hybrid arrangement (39%). In the US, fully remote and hybrid workers are expected to account for 71% of the workforce in 2023.

A 2022 survey found that 25 to 35 year old's were the mostly likely to be offered full-time remote work. In comparison, only 29 percent of 55 to 65 year old's reported that they had the opportunity to work remotely full-time.

Nearly 70% of full-time workers embraced remote work during the pandemic, with the shift resulting in 16% of companies worldwide becoming fully remote and 73% of all departments predicted to have remote workers by 2028. Employers stand to gain numerous benefits from remote work policies.

Financial activities had the most change, with 55% of workers being hybrid or fully remote in 2021 and 33% in 2022. The average for all private industries was 40% in 2021, and 28% in 2022. Millions fewer Americans worked remotely last year, according to a new survey from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

One thing that's clear is that remote work is not going away. There are, however, a number of ways to make it better and more commonplace, and to ensure that it doesn't harm you more than it helps.

The future of remote work is still uncertain, but one thing is clear: remote work is here to stay. As companies continue to adapt to the new realities of remote work, they will need to find new ways to manage and engage their remote employees.