Working from home is hardly a novel concept, especially after the novel coronavirus pandemic. Many businesses have recognized the benefits of allowing their staff to work from home for several years. On the other hand, the coronavirus epidemic caused many more firms to adapt and evolve. Rightly so, businesses had to find a way to keep functioning when the whole world was under lockdown.
So, Will businesses continue to embrace the perks of working from home, or will they resume normal operations in 2023, when the virus is completely gone?
Whatever happens, individuals have learned a lot over the last three years about remote working. This fresh information, paired with data from before the epidemic, makes it more difficult to deny that remote working is an essential component of any modern corporate strategy.
I have compiled some interesting and important statistics associated with remote working in this blog to help employers and employees plan their next steps.
Remote Work Statistics Highlights
- Around 16% of companies in the world are completely remote.
- firms can save more than $11,000 annually on each employee by following remote work culture.
- Having the opportunity to work from home would make 74% of employees less likely to leave a company.
- Globally, 44% of companies do not allow any kind of remote work.
- Americans save an average of 50 minutes daily by working remotely.
- Web conferencing software saw the most increased software spending after the covid-19 pandemic began.
- Microsoft Teams have over 270 million monthly active users as of 2023.
- The expanded use of collaboration platforms is the most adopted remote work technology.
- Enterprises globally are spending over $178 billion on cloud infrastructure.
- Most people named Flexible scheduling the most important benefit of working remotely.
- Working from home is more productive, according to 77% of employees.
- According to 85% of managers, having teams with remote workers is expected to become the trend in 2023.
Sources: Owl Lab, Statista, Economic Times, Geekwire, Upwork.
General Remote Work Statistics
- Only 3% of white-collar professionals want to return to work five days a week.
- A whopping 86% of employees prefer to work from home at least two days every week management, not the workers, will determine when remote working is no longer acceptable, according to 87% of tech firm leaders.
- After COVID-19, 54% of employees will continue working remotely at least occasionally.
- One-quarter of workers said the hardest part about working from home is being unable to unplug at the end of the day.
Here is the table showing the most reported problem by remote working people:
| Problem | Share of people reporting it |
| Not being able to unplug | 25% |
| loneliness | 24% |
| Being in a different timezone than teammates | 21% |
| Staying Motivated | 21% |
| Difficulties with collaborating and communication | 17% |
| Other | 4% |
- 31% of people claim they have no struggles working from home.
- In order to continue working from home occasionally after the pandemic, 46% of respondents would be willing to accept a pay loss of up to 5%.
- Another FlexJobs survey revealed that 24% of workers claim that having the option to work from home is so crucial to them that they would be willing to accept a wage drop of between 10 to 20% in exchange for it, and 21% would forgo some vacation time.
- Following the pandemic, 8% of respondents say they would like to work remotely full-time, while 39% would prefer a blended environment. Amazingly, 97% of workers want to work remotely in some capacity.
- The value of the global video conferencing market is $14.6 billion. By 2026, the market is expected to nearly double, reaching up to $27.3 billion.
Source: Livemint, Pewreserach, Owl Labs, FlexJobs.
Employer-Specific Remote Work Statistics
- After the pandemic, 47% of business owners are willing to permit employees to work entirely from home.
- To ensure that all workers feel included and involved, 27% of managers reported that their organizations had implemented new hybrid etiquette practices.
- Most higher-level management claimed that quality control of unified communications and collaboration technologies was the most important part of UX monitoring for their IT firm.
- The fact that management of the company has become confident in the employees’ performance when working from home was one of the key factors for organizations to contemplate switching to a totally or largely remote workplace in 2021.
- As per a Statista survey, 72% of American respondents said they will invest in virtual collaboration technologies in the future to accommodate their mixed workforce.
Here is the table showing data from that survey:
| Investment Areas | Share of Respondents |
| Tool for Virtual Collaboration | 72% |
| IT Infrastructure | 70% |
| Training for Managers | 64% |
| Conference Rooms for Enhanced Connectivity | 57% |
| Hoteling Applications | 50% |
| Communal Space in the office | 48% |
| Unassigned Seating in the office | 45% |
- According to the Global Workplace Analytics report, firms can save more than $11k annually on each employee. The savings come from lower office space costs, more productivity, and decreased absenteeism.
- More frequent employee check-ins have been undertaken by 61% of business leaders.
- Nearly 20% of American respondents did not know if they were utilizing a virtual private network (VPN) or not when working from home, compared to 43% who said they were. 38% of respondents said they were not using any VPN.
Employee-Specific Remote Work Statistics
- The ability to have a flexible schedule was the primary advantage of working remotely in every country, according to 67% of respondents. The ability to work from wherever came in second.
Here is the table showing the main benefits of working from home:
| Benefits of Working From Home | Share of Respondents voting |
| Flexibility in spending time | 67% |
| Flexibility to choose work location | 62% |
| Having more time | 59% |
| Flexibility to live wherever | 55% |
| Financial Betterment | 48% |
| Work Focus and Stability | 44% |
| Feeling Safe | 32% |
| Flexibility in carrier options | 29% |
| Other | 4% |
- according to 85% of employees, a hybrid or fully remote work arrangement allows them more time to devote to personal or family responsibilities.
- Employees take less sick leaves when working from home.
- 24% of workers agree that working remotely lessens workplace politics and bureaucracy.
- It was simpler to present to a group online than in person, according to 70% of respondents in the U.S.
Here is the table showing the benefits of participating in meeting remotely as per US respondents:
| Benefits | Share of Respondents |
| It’s easier to present to a group | 71% |
| It’s less stressful | 70% |
| It’s just as productive as in-person | 67% |
| It’s easier to contribute | 66% |
| It makes participation more equal | 66% |
- Active work hours and log times are the most likely surveillance activities within businesses worldwide, said 47% of the employees polled in a Statista survey.
- 52% of employees worldwide work remotely once every week, and 70% do so at least once every month
- Only 33% of people have a room specifically for working from home, and 50% of those people spend the entire day sharing that space with someone else.
- Americans who worked from home have established their own offices. However, 25% of people preferred working in coffee shops or restaurants, while 39% preferred working from their bedrooms.
Here is the table showing the most popular places to work from when working remotely:
| Places | Share of respondents |
| Home Office | 73% |
| Bedroom | 39% |
| Dining Room | 39% |
| Couch | 38% |
| Coworking space | 31% |
| Kitchen | 29% |
| Cafe or Restaurant | 25% |
| Outdoors | 24% |
| Closet | 21% |
Sources: Statista, Gallup, Gitlab.
Software Statistics
- Web conferencing software saw the most increased software spending after the covid-19 pandemic began.
- Around 48.08% of the global market for key office suite technology was controlled by Microsoft’s Office 365. The second significant rival in the market is Google’s office suite, which recently fell behind Office 365 in popularity.
- With an 18.9% return rate, Cisco Webex Calling was the top unified communications as a service (UCaaS) solution for multinational businesses with more than 1k employees.
- Microsoft teams have over 270 million monthly active users as of 2023.
- Expanded use of collaboration platforms is the most adopted remote work technology.
Source: Statista, Geekwire, Upwork.
Read how some of the best HR software have considered the inclination of employees working remotely and provided features here.
Remote Working and Its Environmental Impact
- According to estimates, 3.9 million workers who work from home at least half the time cut greenhouse gas emissions, which is equivalent to taking more than 600k cars off the road for a whole year.
- A projection by Upwork states that by 2025, close to 36.2 million Americans may be working remotely, cutting commuter miles by 70 to 140 billion annually.
- Globally, remote employees might have the same effect on air quality as 91 million new trees planted.
Source: FlexJobs
Remote Work Statistics Associated with Health
- A recent study by Dice.com found that 66% of people who work from home feel burned out, compared to 64% of people who go to work every day.
- 91% of people working from home who reported higher efficiency and productivity at work also routinely engaged in wellness activities.
- 75% of American workers have experienced difficulties at work as a result of fear brought on by the COVID-19 outbreak and other recent global occurrences.
- Since starting to work from home, 74% of people have experienced mental health difficulties, mainly depression and anxiety.
- A study from the American Psychiatric Association states that 54% of workers believe their managers are more sensitive to their needs.
- 20% of people in the same study say their employer provides mental health assistance.
Is Remote Work Here to Stay? (Prediction for 2023 and Beyond)
Ladders‘ data scientists believe working from home is here to stay. According to their forecasts, by the end of 2023, a quarter of all professional positions in North America will be remote, and remote possibilities will continue to grow through 2024.
Countless individuals and organizations experienced various benefits, problems, and possibilities related to remote employment throughout the pandemic period.
As the adoption of different remote work configurations continues, we anticipate seeing additional adjustments in perspective and value.
Related Read:
Conclusion
These remote work statistics indicate that the work from home trend is expected to continue growing in the years to come.
It appears that many firms aim to continue allowing some degree of remote work, and many anticipate using a hybrid working paradigm that permits workers to work remotely at least occasionally. The organizations will probably gain from these measures in the form of lower costs and higher production. A happier and healthier workforce will help organizations as a result of the favorable effect on workers.
I will keep updating this space with more information as I get my hands on it. Happy reading!
