The prevalence of remote work increased significantly in 2020 and changed the world in numerous ways. Here are 10 statistics that show various ways that it has occurred.
Employees are earning more money when they work in virtual workspaces.
Specifically, those who work remotely receive 8% more pay than individuals who have similar levels of qualifications and experiences but work in traditional settings.
They are also saving money indirectly, about $4,000 per year. This is done in a myriad of ways, including saving on gas or other commuting costs and not needing to eat out as often or spend as much on professional wardrobes.
Remote work has also appeared to have helped the environment.
For example, particulate matter, an air pollutant, has decreased in India about 29% as compared to pre-pandemic levels.
Also, snow albedo, how white it is, in the Indus River Basin has been at a 20-year high in 2020.
Real estate has been affected as well as remote workers no longer need easy access to places such as city centers.
As a result, people are leaving expensive areas for more affordable ones in increasing numbers, resulting in statistics such as housing inventory increasing by 96% in San Francisco.
Remote work itself is changing as it is expected that 36 million Americans will be working remotely in 2025, which, if that ends up being the case, would be an 87% increase over the corresponding pre-pandemic figure.
Meanwhile, productivity has remained high as 94% of employers have stated that having their employees working from home or elsewhere has either not had a negative effect on productivity or has helped it; 27% stated that productivity was higher.
As a result, 83% of employers are now planning to continue to allow their employees to work remotely and otherwise enjoy flexible schedules once the more direct work-related impacts of the Covid pandemic have lessened considerably and life has mostly returned to normal.
Employees are also reporting similar or higher levels of productivity.
95% have stated that their own productivity has remained the same or increased with 51% saying that it has increased.
They added that experiencing fewer interruptions away from an office setting has been a pivotal reason why.
Note that the percentages are similar for those who are parents.
Specifically, 49% of working mothers have stated that they have been more productive while working remotely versus in an office while the corresponding percentage for working fathers is 50.
Meanwhile, remote workers have reported improved mental health.
For example, 17% of employees who enjoy flexible work environments experience “poor” or “very poor” mental health; that percentage increases to 27 for those who do not get to experience any flexibility in their work environments.