Finally, data has emerged to support what most people have suspected about remote work: it’s here to stay.
An annual survey by the Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics released in June showed that 35% of workers did some or all of their work at home in 2023, up from 34% in 2022.
The data comes from a detailed study called Annual Time Use Surveywhich measures exactly how Americans spend their time. The survey covers leisure activities, household chores and work life — including exactly where they happen.
The fact that work-from-home rates are rising suggests that they have stabilized even amid growing calls to return to the office, moving from a pandemic-era necessity to a new professional reality.
Overall, workers are more likely to work from home now than they were before the pandemic. In 2019, only 24% of workers spent any time at home during the workweek.
In 2020, when the pandemic hit, there was a massive surge in remote working, with all employees, except those deemed essential, locked down in their homes.
While the Bureau of Labor Statistics suspended its time use survey in 2020 due to the pandemic, separate data from a Gallup poll in April 2020 showed that 51% of employees I worked fully remotely.
When the Bureau of Labor Statistics resumed collecting data, its survey found that the telework rate, which included hybrid and fully remote employees, was 38% in 2021.
This highlights another post-pandemic trend, which is that Most remote work arrangements are hybrid. With companies that require at least some time in the office.
These hybrid work schedules have become very popular. At the same time, the share of employees working completely remotely has been Continuous decline Since the beginning of last year, fully remote work has become one of the remaining jobs in high demand, with top talent across all industries competing for these diminishing positions.
One of the reasons why employees appreciate Distance working What makes telecommuting so valuable—some even prefer it to a promotion—is that it gives them time to manage their own schedules. Specifically, that means they often work fewer hours when they work from home. When people telecommute, they do so for an average of five hours a day compared to eight hours when they go to the office, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
As more companies and academics study remote work, trends around who is attracted to it are becoming clearer. slim People with disabilities generally seem to be drawn to telecommuting. The BLS report seems to support this trend, albeit slightly, with 36% of women telecommuting compared to 34% of men. And while women telecommute more than men, doing so still comes with additional burdens, as they end up doing more housework than they do in the office, according to a January 2023 research paper.
On the other hand, personal jobs generally attract younger workers, who I miss guidance They enjoy the experience of going to the office. However, they also want option Work from home for at least part of the week.
