Remote Working Statistics 2021: 10 Exciting Trends

The pandemic has changed the way of working in many organizations around the world. The sudden emergence of the COVID-19 brought a historic shift in the working culture.

The management of a majority of businesses now agrees and even encourages its employees to work remotely, and maintain the work-life balance. It is evident that working from home does not have a negative impact on productivity rather the management has seen an increase in productivity. Working remotely was earlier considered as a roadblock to getting the productive output. But, undoubtedly it has now become a well-accepted and appreciated norm by major IT giants today and they plan to take it forward in the coming years as well.

According to leading magazine Vox, more than 70% of the workforce will prefer to work remotely, for at least five days a month. Be it a web developer, an interior designer, or a person dealing with trade services. Employees and their employers have realized the benefits of work-flexibility and its positive impact on their work output.

The productivity metric from different organizations has proved that remote working is feasible and employees can be more productive. But certainly, there are some barriers that an employee feels reluctant to continue the work from home approach and unwillingly feels like getting back to the office space.

At times, managers allow their team members to work remotely, but do not count them for promotions or appraisals. With the lockdown restrictions laid last year, entrepreneurs and senior management, all over the world now acceded to the fact that remote work is permanent, and it is expected to double from the pre-pandemic levels in the coming years. According to Gartner, last year 3 out of 4 companies, decided to permanently shift their employees to remote working. It includes industry giants like Google, Twitter, Facebook, Square, and many more. We saw how companies reduced office spaces by encouraging employees to work remotely and continue their remote work with cost-saving. Remote work is a practical solution in industries where the workforce is educated and well-paid. They can use their knowledge from a remote location and adapt well to the changing environment.

Companies are also using a strategic approach and planning a unique combination of remote and on-site working, that will give rise to a balanced hybrid work model. Some days are reserved for face-to-face meetings for critical decision making and having brainstorming sessions for new projects or team-building activities. Employers and senior management also have in their list to reorganize the working space and collaborate with each other.

An office setting where employees can work comfortably, gives them a positive attitude, builds strong relationships, and gives an opportunity for growth, exposure, and highlighting your personal achievements. In the remote working environment, teams coordinate with each other, through emails, chats, video conferencing, or group calls. The virtual engagement helps to keep the workflow going with high enthusiasm. Remote working has been an opportunity for many to stand out as successful leaders while managing the whole team together and giving outstanding results.

In this post, let us see, how remote working is becoming a compulsive part of the regular professional work culture.

Interesting Remote Working Statistics for 2021

The remote working trend was not accepted earlier and managers were uncertain to offer flexibility to their teams. But the COVID-19 was a game-changer and has put the process of remote working into overdrive. Still, some CEOs have said at various forums that working from the office is still better but has also acknowledged that during the last year of remotely working they have completed all required targets and there has been no loss in the billing of projects. Below are some facts that are evident and convincing enough to encourage employees and industry leaders to work from home.

Still, more than 30% of the US workforce has been working remotely full time and more than 20% is partially working remotely with good outputs. This is a very upbeat figure and it proves that employers are gaining confidence that their workforce will be as productive while at home as they were in office.

As per the study of Gallup, man-hours spent nowadays working remotely are approximately 5.8 days which is way higher than 2.4 hours spent before the coronavirus pandemic. This can be further increased in the future given the number of positive outputs coming from the working of employees who are still working remotely.

What is further exciting is the survey by Global Workplace Analytics that even after things are completely normal approximately 25% of the US workforce will still be working remotely. This is also validated by many industry leaders and they are happy and will encourage remote working especially for engineer level staff for working from home given the number of increased outputs they are getting.

As per a survey done of the workforce, it was found that though some wanted to come back as they are now tired of staying at home a whooping majority i.e. 65% of the workforce is happy working from home due to many reasons like less commuting, freedom in working, etc. thus they want to continue working from home. This survey has also been taken into notice by employers as they want their employees to be happy so that there can be less attrition and a more productive workforce.

What is further motivating is that the workforce to work from remote is the saving they can do while working remotely. As per the study done by Wales University, almost everyone has confirmed that they were able to save money. Many workforces confirmed that it was during pandemic only they were able to save money as many expenses incurred on dry cleaning, commuting, meals, office get together were stopped and also due to pandemic they were living in a minimal situation. This has really boosted their working from home morale.

In fact, not even employees but employers were also able to save a significant amount during the pandemic. Many businesses that earlier required frequent travels were now done with virtual meetings, moreover, the rentals of real estate are owned by companies were a major cost factor and with the remote workforce, they really don’t need expensive real estate. Many companies have surrendered half or more than half of their workplaces and have kept only small work areas that will be required by management. A majority of the workforce has to work on specified tasks and are not involved in decision making so this workforce can work from anywhere unless and until they are completing tasks assigned to them by their delivery managers.

Time plays a special part in motivating persons to work from home or remotely. In metros, an average person commutes anywhere between two to three hours. That is almost ten percent of the complete day time. Now we can imagine that if we add office hours and commute time there is hardly any time left for the person to spend at home or with family or for fulfilling any of his or her hobbies.

This is where working remotely has played a very helpful part. He can now use these commute timings which are saved to get back to his hobbies, spend time with his family and pets. This will remove his stress which earlier was burdened to him by traveling so much. Also, it is worth noting that a person when traveling about one or one and a half hours in the morning when he will reach his office, his productivity will automatically be decreased due to this hectic travel.

With respect to employers, while working from office an employee is always concerned about timing that when his timings will be finished and he can quickly take a shuttle to home as due to heavy traffic no one will like to get late and thus, in turn, he shifts the pending tasks to next day. Now from working from home he never does that, an employee will try to finish his work on the same day and as he knows that his employer has taken care of his needs and comfort by allowing him working from home, thus he or she will definitely reciprocate with giving employer and more productive working.

Another fact which was given by persons advocating working from an office that employees working from home are more inclined to do their personal works and there are lots of disturbances at home and a person is not able to concentrate on work. This myth was busted by a study done by Global Workplace Analytics, which presented that an employee has far less deviated from his work when at home and there are more deviations while working from office for example a colleague coming for chat, coffee breaks and many more. This asserts the fact that a person is a more productive while at home as he or she faces far fewer deviations as compared to when in office.

10 Exciting Trends to Watch Out For in 2021

Remote work was gradually increasing pace before 2021 but now we have new technologies and shifting workforce trends, to encourage and accommodate more and more people for working remotely. Let’s have a look at the interesting trends that will change the working scenario globally in the year 2021 and beyond.

1. Increasing Number of Remote Working Employees

Undoubtedly, the global workforce is more inclined to work from home. Yet, we have a mixed bunch of people. There is still a large portion of employees that are desperate to go to the office and work from the workplace. But, if we have a look at the statistics and according to the global surveys, we have the data that 51% of the U.S. workforce was working remotely and 49% of the employees were not working remotely by spring 2020. But have you wondered what percentage of the U.S. Workforce Works from Home now?

After the spring of 2020, as the number of COVID cases decline, or seem to be under control, remote working has been steadily declining again, with October seeing 33% of the U.S. workforce working remotely full time, while a further 25% working partially from home.

2. Percentage of Employees Seeking Work from Home by the end of 2021

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, many people are working remotely and an average worker works 20 workdays approximately, or 5.8 remote workdays per month. This number was 2.4 before the pandemic and the tendency is increasing more after the offices are opening. More people will be working from home after the offices reopen post the pandemic. The global workforce analytics and predictions suggest that since 2006, 25% to 30% of the US workforce will continue to work from home after 2020.

While some people hate the isolated atmosphere and wish to get and co-work with their colleagues, but still many wish to maintain the perfect work-life balance they always dreamt of. Remote working allows them to save time and avoid commuting. The same time can be invested either to work for their profession or spend with their parents, children, and spouse. 65% of people in the US are excited to continue the work from home culture, even after the pandemic is over.

3. Saving Money by Working from Home

After the sudden emergence of the corona-virus, many lost their jobs and people also suffered major business losses. But, we have working professionals who gave their best and slogged by working from home. They have found an opportunity to save money as well. The money spent on traveling and other expenses on moving out of your home were reduced tremendously.

A majority of people, i.e., around 92% agreed that remote employees have saved a large amount of money by full-time remote working. Looking closely at the numbers, we have 19% of remote workers who saved significant amounts of money from remote working. On the other hand, 25% saved moderate amounts, 29% saved small amounts, and ultimately, 19% saved minimal amounts. Apart from saving on commutation and fuel, they saved on vehicle maintenance, laundry, dry-cleaning, and money spent on meals and outings.

4. Business Owners Save Money by Encouraging Employees to Work Remotely

Many organizations have saved a whopping amount during the lockdown. At the end of the day, what matters is money, and businesses saved a large amount when the employees were working from home. A significant amount was saved on office space rentals, electricity, and other essential amenities. If we go by numbers, businesses saved around $1,400,000 per 100 employees, in one year.

5. Employees Save their Time and Become More Productive

By not commuting to the workplace, a lot of time is saved from traveling and workers can utilize the same time in addition to their productivity. An average of 75 hours in a year can be avoided, which is used in commutation. 47% of this time can be used in productive work and for the benefit of the organization.

6. Distractions at Home more, as compared to Office Space

It is again a debatable point. Some people feel that there is nothing like their home and they feel more creative and productive by working from home. Others, on the other hand, feel that they have to work for their kids and manage home, along with office work, which makes it difficult for them to manage the best of both worlds. If we consider the survey reports and statistics, reports suggest that there are fewer distractions in the home, as compared to the office.

7. Save Environment and Go Green

Working remotely not only is advantageous for the employees and the entrepreneurs, but it also helps us to save the environment. When we commute less, we save our environment by less combustion of fuel and keeping the earth green. The lockdown has served as a perfect beautiful example where the world saw how our climate and nature revived, while we were sitting locked at our homes. Working remotely will help in curbing noise and air pollution as well, thus helping us to create a better environment. And, a better place for us to live.

8. Success Comes as an Add-on Perk

One thing that a majority of workers fear while working remotely, is that it does not affect their growth and success in the profession. A majority are satisfied with their growth rate while working from home, but still there a lot of scopes to convince the remaining lot.

Only 68% of employees, who work remotely, are happy with their growth chart when working remotely. There is a fear of fewer salary appraisals and promotions when we work from home. But, the management, globally, is working to handle this part in a strategic way to keep their employees motivated at work and satisfied at home.

9. Impact on Productivity

Productivity has been a major concern in any profession, and no one can afford a hit on this fact. When the pandemic hit our offices, the major concern for employers was to keep a close watch on employee productivity, and, thankfully, they received more than expected output. Statistics claim that over 70% feel that their teams’ performance has improved than before.

10. Working as a Team

Sitting and working afar and having the teammates interact through video conferencing and group calls, has brought in front a different experience for the employees and their leaders. But, it too has brought amazing results for the business outputs and seems to give promising results in the near future.

Challenges of Remote Working

The above-shared statistics and trends justify that remote working is a success when it comes to employees and employers. But there are certainly few challenges, every organization may face, while dealing with employees working remotely.

Some of them are unplugging after working the whole day, internet and connectivity issues, difficulty in collaboration and comprehension, managing the work for home and work from home together, tracing and taking work from notorious employees, etc.

Wrapping Up

One of the important lessons that we have learned from the pandemic last year, is that remote working is definitely possible and can deliver amazing results in the coming future.

In the year 2020, we have seen some interesting facts and statistics that are convincing enough to encourage employees to continue work from home or work with flexibility.