For some, being far from the outside world, office, and colleagues has not been an enjoyable experience. For others, telecommuting was a revelation they wish to keep as their “new normal” even when the coronavirus pandemic ends.
This article will look into different aspects of various work from home statistics—how much do remote workers earn, how many people work remotely, the benefits of this kind of employment, and how many of us have switched to it during the pandemic.
To find out this and more, just keep on reading!
Top Ten Working from Home Stats
- 97% of organizations canceled business traveling by March 17, 2020.
- Statistics on working from home suggest that flexible working conditions provide more value for businesses.
- SME spending on IT services for remote operations will grow by $100 billion in the following years.
- 4 out of 5 people would pick the job offer with flexible working over an on-premises one.
- When it comes to working from home, stats show that 61% of international companies offer remote working positions.
- Management placements are the most frequent type of remote positions, with 16% of teleworkers being managers.
- Number of full-time remote workers in the US skyrocketed during the pandemic, from 17% of the total workforce to 44%.
- With the increasing number of people who work from home, happiness is on the rise —75% of workers in the digital fields feel optimistic about remote working.
- Job satisfaction statistics show that 82% of teleworkers report lowered stress levels.
- Complex jobs benefit more from remote working.
Fast Facts About Working From Home to Get You Started
If you’re new to the concept of working from home, you may have all kinds of questions about it. How common it is, the pros and cons, and the future awaiting people who opt for this kind of employment. These are just some of the basic questions we will cover in this section.
1. Statistics on working from home suggest that flexible working conditions provide more value for businesses.
(The IWG Global Workspace Survey)
Remote working statistics for 2019 predict that, by 2030, the US economy could receive a $4.5 trillion annual boost to support the flexible working model. America is the undisputed leader in terms of the expected progress, with China and India following with $1.4 trillion and $376 billion.
2. SME spending on IT services for remote operations will grow by $100 billion in the following years.
(Statista)
Although the COVID-19 crisis had a devastating effect on small businesses, they seem to have found a way to turn the situation to their advantage.
When it comes to how they’re dealing with the increase in work from home, articles on the topic point out the importance of growing SME investments into cloud-based applications, cybersecurity, and collaboration tools to help their employees and keep their business afloat.
3. Job satisfaction statistics show that 82% of teleworkers report lowered stress levels.
(Fundera)
80% of people who switched to telecommuting reported increased morale. In comparison, 69% showed improvement in work attendance.
This could prove that employers can save their employees from becoming grim workplace stress statistics by introducing flexible work models. After all, most young people admit that they appreciate working from home more than any other way of making the work environment fun and casual.
4. 35% of remote workers lack quality sleep, as suggested by job satisfaction statistics.
(Amerisleep)
Different sleep statistics indicate that pandemic caused a worldwide increase in sleep deprivation. This is undoubtedly connected to the fact that 39.5% of people working from home can’t seem to manage to regularly get a healthy amount of sleep.
Statistics on working from home related to this issue reveal that government and public administration employees sleep the most, with 75% reporting sleeping well during the night. On the other hand, people in the transportation industry work around 10 hours more than an average American and are the most sleep-deprived group.
General Work from Home Statistics
Now that you got the basics, let’s go a bit further into understanding the math and the trends that run this new way of life and work. Here you will find out how people feel about working from home, how much they earn, and what kind of jobs there are.
We recommend focusing, because you may need these to make some well-informed choices in 2021.
5. 4 out of 5 people would pick the job offer with flexible working over an on-premises one.
(The IWG Global Workspace Survey)
These and similar work from home trends from 2019 led to creating the term “Generation Flex,” which describes the younger generation of employees who prefer positions that allow them to redefine traditional workdays. This resulted in managers adapting to their wishes to attract and keep the most talented among them.
6. When it comes to working from home, stats show that 61% of international companies offer remote working positions.
(CCleaner)
Continuously growing numbers show that this was a gradually developing phenomenon even before the coronavirus pandemic. A 2019 survey shows that the number of remote workers in the UK jumped to 1.54 million from 884,000 recorded in 2009.
When it comes to the US, a survey shows that in 2019, 62% of employed people had some remote working experience. The survey didn’t count the period they spent doing so (once a month, once a week, multiple times in a week, etc.).
7. Complex jobs benefit more from remote working.
(Kaspersky)
A pilot study on remote working statistics from 2018 shows that only three specific types of workers recorded a substantial performance increase from remote work. First, there are those doing complex jobs, those in independent positions, and those who didn’t really interact with their coworkers in the office.
8. Remote work statistics report that workers make around $4,000 more a year than their non-telecommuting peers.
(Fundera)
Looking into the niche of working people who earn less than $100,000 a year, while an average remote worker earns $41,705 while non-telecommuters earn $37,657 annually. The stats go on to show that 79% of telecommuters belong to this group.
Despite this, 34% of American workers would be willing to have their pay lowered by 5% for a chance to work remotely. Some research shows that 28% of workers would even be willing to give up 10%–20% of their paychecks.
9. 80% of people in Japan believe flexible work is “the new normal.”
(The IWG Global Workspace Survey)
Even though on the global level, the Japanese were the least satisfied with their jobs in 2019, they believe in new and alternative organizational work methods. Work from home statistics for 2019 place Mexico and South Africa in second place, with 79% of workers who share this belief. Belgium comes in third with 78%, followed by India, Canada, and China with 77%.
The US belongs to the same group as Spain and Australia with a slightly lower percentage of 74%.
10. Management placements are the most frequent type of remote positions, with 16% of teleworkers being managers.
(Fundera)
After managerial positions, some 14% of telecommuters work in the office/administrative support, and 13% are in sales.
Finance and computer-related jobs are slightly behind with 9% of telecommuters each.
11. By 2028, 73% of teams will have remote employees.
(Upwork)
Work from home statistics shows that the age of managers has a profound influence on their workforce planning. Young managers hire remote workers 28% more than managers who belong to the category of baby boomers.
Young managers don’t stop here—69% of them allow their employees to work from home, and 74% report already having team members who do most of their work from home. Meanwhile, only 58% of baby boomer managers do this.
12. 85% of business leaders admit that teleworking increases productivity.
(The IWG Global Workspace Survey)
Analysis of telecommuting statistics in 2019 revealed that, in addition to this, 67% of business leaders admit that work-related flexibility can increase productivity by at least 20%.
Work from Home Statistics for 2021
We can all agree that 2020 brought changes we couldn’t have imagined back in 2019. Based on our experience, we can ask a logical question — what can we expect in 2021? Let’s analyze the stats from 2020 and try to predict how 2021 will look like.
13. Number of full-time remote workers in the US skyrocketed during the pandemic, from 17% of the total workforce to 44%.
(Statista)
The number of occasional remote workers also went up. The number of employees who worked remotely only three or four days a week climbed from the pre-COVID 7% to 9%. Furthermore, working from home statistics indicate that the number of Americans who never worked remotely fell by 13%, i.e., from 47% to 34%.
14. Work from home stats reveal that, in April 2020, Zoom provided service for over 300 million users a day.
(Zoom)
This unbelievable number was part of Zoom’s CEO Eric Yuan’s webinar on its updates and security methods.
15. Only 6% of businesses asked their staff to take unpaid leave.
(Gartner)
Remote working statistics and other research show that businesses are taking different approaches to remain financially stable and keep most of their employees—most companies (48%) ask their staff to take their sick leave, vacations, and PTOs when it comes to COVID-19 absences.
Some organizations went further, so 20% of them increased their PTO for staff who get sick or need to care for a family member. In comparison, 18% did so for parents whose children are staying home from school.
16. Only 16% of workers in IT services work remotely full-time, based on remote work statistics.
(Statista)
Although this industry is well-known for its teleworking opportunities, remote work statistics show that full-time remote IT workers are quite rare. Only 35% work online occasionally, and 33% do so frequently.
17. 97% of organizations canceled business traveling by March 17, 2020.
(Gartner)
According to Gartner’s survey, this marked an 80% increase since March 3rd. The same study determined that 88% of businesses advised or instructed their employees to telecommute, even if they didn’t have a reason to believe they might be sick.
18. The number of Chinese people downloading Lark increased by 6085% in February 2020.
(Statista)
When it comes to the app industry statistics, work from home due to worldwide lockdowns has resulted in staggering increases in collaboration and communication apps. Apart from Lark, the app called DingTalk experienced a 1446% increase in downloads, while WeChat Work took third place with “only” 572%.
19. With the increasing number of people who work from home, happiness is on the rise —75% of workers in the digital fields feel optimistic about remote working.
(LinkedIn)
In general, 55% of employed people believe that their industry can be productive and thrive through remote working.
Retail and manufacturing see the lowest employee optimism with 29% and 41%, respectively, which comes as no surprise considering personal interactions are essential in these industries.
20. 40% of companies require virtual check-ins.
(Gartner)
While there are numerous benefits of working from home, new loneliness statistics indicate that some employees may experience difficulties maintaining professional and personal relations with their colleagues. This is why 32% of organizations introduced new virtual meeting tools, and 56% made sure to actively communicate their action plans to the staff.
FAQ
What percentage of the workforce works from home?
Due to the coronavirus lockdowns, 42% (or, according to other surveys, 44%) of the US workforce work from home. This means that there are almost twice as many online workers as those who remained on their work premises—mainly essential service employees who make up 26% of the total workforce.
(Stanford, Statista)
Why companies should allow work from home?
Because that decision could bring them a significant increase in productivity and staff motivation, which would result in financial benefits. Employees work with more focus without office distractions, commuting time disappears, and they have more time to take care of their family/personal needs.
(NIBusinessInfo)
Is it more productive to work from home?
Absolutely. Most recent research into this matter showed that teleworkers perform 50% more activities because they perceive them as necessary and not because they were ordered. Thus, the number of tasks perceived as boring fell from 27% to 12%. Employees started spending 9% more of their workday interacting with work partners and customers.
(Harvard Business Review)
How do you ensure employees are working from home?
First and most important—make sure all your employees are equipped and trained to use tech and productivity tools. This will make the transition easier for them; they won’t lack the resources to do their work and stay connected to their colleagues.
Establishing daily check-ins and rules concerning the degree of work-time flexibility will also be of great benefit. It will leave little space for free interpretation and decrease time spent resolving misunderstandings.
(US Chamber)
How many people are employed in the US?
Statista estimates show that there are 158.13 million employed people in the US.
(Statista)
Bottom Line
So, what do you think about working from home? Is it something you enjoy, something you adapted to, or something you can’t wait to be done with? Whatever the case may be, the numbers keep growing. The internet and technology saved the world economy. They provided us with an alternative to closing businesses, unemployment, and a rampant economic crisis.
We hope that these work from home statistics showed you a bigger picture that will help you get through a hard working day or decide if you want to permanently switch to remote work.
