Interesting Remote Work Trends and Statistics in 2024

With the impact of the COVID pandemic declining, small businesses and nonprofits are reevaluating their remote work policies to help keep their organizations running effectively. The question of which work model will prove most efficient and resilient after the golden age of working from home (WFH) is of great interest to company leaders and employees. In this article we will review the most important remote work trends and statistics in 2024.

These statistics are compiled from research and surveys conducted by Forbes, Fortune, Chief Executive, EY, CNBC, U.S. Census Bureau, Morning Consult, Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research, Pew Research Center, USA Today, OnePoll, Upwork, Owl Labs, Global Work-Life Survey, Zippia, Notta, Checkr, and Quantum Workplace.

Prevalence of WFH in US

• Pre-pandemic, 6% of U.S. workers or about 7 million people were fully remote.
• About 26% of US households currently have someone working from home versus 37% in 2021.
• 22 million employees or about 14% of all employees work from home full-time.
• 41% of workers who can work remotely are on a hybrid model.
• 60% of all US workers do not have jobs that can be completed remotely.
• 42% of white-collar workers earning under $50K per year are fully remote, while only 25% earning over $200K a year are fully remote. Only 18% of those earning between $125K to $200K a year are fully remote.
• 43% of those earning between $125K-$150K are in the office full time.
• Hybrid work arrangements are most prevalent for positions earning between $75K and $100K annually and are least prevalent for those earning under $50K.

Company leadership attitudes on WFH results:

• 80% of leaders are confident in their current hybrid work strategy.
• 80% of executives report their employees’ productivity was somewhat or much higher over the past 24 months.
• 86% of companies have issued an in-office attendance mandate for a certain number of days a week.
• 80% of organizations want their employees in the office at least three days a week.
• 55% of small companies have increased their office space footprint over the last two years.
• 56% of managers see red flags if employees are passionately against returning to the office. Only 38% of employees agree.

Employee productivity and satisfaction with WFH

• The main reasons workers give for enhanced productivity through WFH are fewer interruptions, better work-life balance, a quieter environment, feeling more comfortable, and experiencing more happiness and less stress.
• 93% of working professionals say their mental health is positively impacted by working from home, while 90% also say it positively affects their physical health. In addition, 96% of workers believe being able to work from home, whether hybrid or fully remote, would be the best option when considering their mental health.
• 41% of in-office personnel are experiencing burnout, compared to 26% of remote workers.
• 65% of remote workers say they are “extremely satisfied” with their jobs, compared to just 34% of office-based employees.
• When asked to rate their happiness level out of 10, 42% of remote workers rate themselves as ‘8’ or above, compared to just 21% of office workers.
• Hybrid employees have the highest level of engagement at work, with more than four in five reporting “high engagement” compared to 78% of remote employees and 72% of on-site employees.
• More than 50% of workers want to work from an office at least some of the time.
• 58% of white-collar workers prefer to work remotely at least three days a week.
• One recent study concluded that fully remote workers are 10-20% less productive than fully in-person workers.
• The same study concluded that the overhead cost savings of a remote worker will exceed the decline in their productivity.
• The average U.S. employer can save $11,315 annually on each part-time remote employee.
• Remote workers save an average of 72 minutes daily without having to commute.
• 33% of hiring managers say that productivity has increased because of remote work settings while 23% say it has fallen as a result.

Remote work challenges

• The biggest drawbacks to remote work reported by workers include feeling isolated from their team, establishing clear work-life boundaries, having fewer opportunities to learn from others, and experiencing difficulty unplugging from work.
• Only 36% of workers can keep up strong interactions with their colleagues when working remotely.
• Moving from full-time office to full-time remote work increases loneliness by 67%.
• More than 70% of companies with remote workers have employees in multiple time zones. It can be difficult to organize meetings, especially urgent ones, with employees working different hours.
• Less than 10% of company executives think that fully remote companies can have a strong company culture.
• The Urban Doom Loop is a major problem for population centers around the country. This term refers to the negative impact brought about by the COVID pandemic and the prevalence of fully remote or hybrid work in major US cities. Experts estimate that 10% of total city tax revenue comes from office building property tax, which has fallen by more than 50% since the pandemic. This negative economic trend has also affected food-related businesses and other companies that serve urban office workers.

Employee hiring and retention statistics related to remote work

• 42% of office workers would take a 10% pay cut to have the flexibility to work remotely.
• Only 16% of white-collar workers would consider a role that doesn’t offer any remote work.
• 21% percent of employers face challenges in retaining and recruiting employees willing to come into the office.
• 26% of full-time office workers changed jobs in 2023, compared to only 17% of hybrid or remote workers.
• 40% of workers would consider quitting if they didn’t get some flexibility to work from home. However, 33% of workers say they don’t want to work from home in the future.
• Fully remote job listings on LinkedIn decreased from 1 in 7 in 2022 to 1 in 11 in 2023.
• Hybrid job listings on LinkedIn increased from 1 in 7 in 2022 to 1 in 11 in 2023.

Consult with an IT Support Partner about the Benefits and Challenges of Remote Work

Although the trends suggest organizations are moving away from fully remote options, your organization may still benefit from following such a model or, more likely, from establishing a hybrid work model.

Our most important recommendation is that your leadership team have a comprehensive discussion with an IT Support partner experienced in supporting customized WFH models, like Network Depot, to assess the best business model for your organization. Your trusted IT partner will advise you on which WFH option will work best and help you implement the IT applications necessary to make it run smoothly.

With the understanding of the benefits and challenges of remote work and the assistance of a dependable IT Support partner, your organization will be well prepared to execute the ideal WFH scenario.

To learn more about how to implement the best remote work options for your organization, please contact Network Depot today!