Are you entering the world of remote work? To help you get started, we have put together this guide to remote work statistics to help you on your journey.
The remote work model is touted as a path to greater freedom, and a healthier work/life balance. And many newcomers to the working world are choosing to start as remote workers. Remote work seems to be here to stay, but is it a viable option for you?
Many studies and surveys have been conducted into remote work and its related issues in the last few years. It can be hard to make sense of it all. But we took the hard work out of it for you. We selected the most relevant statistics to assist you with your decision-making when it comes to remote work.
Are you a young professional starting your journey into the world of remote work? Or do you wish to change from your existing work model to a fully remote one? Read our guide to remote work statistics, below.
Statistics on Remote Work
Remote work is hailed by some as the ideal work model. But is this really the case, and do the statistics support these claims?
These are our top statistics on remote work in the US for 2022 and beyond.
Relocation Statistics
Ladders predicted that 25% of all professional jobs in North America will follow the remote model by the end of 2022. They also forecast that remote work opportunities will increase through 2023. So remote work is a new reality.
But there are definite benefits to this work model. When you work fully remotely, you have the freedom to work from anywhere. And working remotely means that you are free to relocate and then work from home in a new environment.
If you are considering doing that, the quality of life in the new town or city replaces local job opportunities as the qualifying criteria. So we took a look at the best states across the US for you to live in while working remotely.
The Best US States To Settle In, To Work From Home
We started our investigation into relocating for remote work by looking at research conducted by moneycrashers.com in 2022.
In their research about the best states to work from home, 20 US locations were selected by evaluating 100 towns and cities across 9 categories.
The 9 categories that were used for evaluating the data were:
- Internet coverage
- The cost of living
- The life expectancy of locals
- The cost of housing
- Economy
- Weather
- Proximity to green spaces
- Pedestrian friendliness
- Quality of education
These are the main factors that determine whether or not a city or town is a good place to live. And if you are enjoying happy home life, as someone who works from home, you will enjoy a happy work life too.
According to their research, Madison, Wisconsin came in the first place, followed by Rogers, Arkansas, and Des Moines, Iowa. Because you can live anywhere as a fully remote worker, you want to relocate to one of these areas to work from home.
Availability Of High-Speed Internet
Another factor to consider if you will be relocating or traveling while remote working, is the availability of high-speed internet access. As most remote work is conducted online, this is of paramount importance.
And there is a definite digital divide in the US. Luckily, the growth of remote work means that much is being done to close this digital divide. But while internet access is not an issue even in remote areas, the speed is another issue altogether.
There is still a long way to go, with some states lagging far behind others in the race to high-speed internet. So we decided to find out what the best, and worst, US states are for internet speed.
The States With The Fastest And The Slowest Internet Speeds
An internet speed test across US states was conducted by highspeedinternet.com in 2022. The results show that the national average internet speed is 119.03 Mbps, 20% higher than the previous year. Their findings also indicated that the East Coast of the US has the fastest internet speeds in the country.
The average in states with the fastest internet speeds was found to be more than double that in the states with the slowest speeds. Delaware came in first with an average internet speed of 145.8 Mbps, followed by New Jersey at 144.7 Mbps and Maryland at 144.3 Mbps.
The states with slower internet speeds are mostly rural. The slowest was West Virginia at 60.7 Mbps, followed by Montana at 63.4 Mbps and Wyoming at 69.9 Mbps. But there is some good news for these states. Even the slowest average internet speeds detected were more than twice as fast as the minimum set by the Federal Communications Commission(FCC).
WFH Tools
Remote work relies more on technology than traditional in-office work. More often than not, it requires the use of conferencing software and other specialized work from home (WFH) tools.
In research collected by TrustRadius over half of all the businesses surveyed, 52%, were increasing their expenditure on remote desktop software and tools. Meanwhile, 57% of these companies were also spending more on collaboration tools.
According to research, two-thirds of businesses are investing in web conferencing software. And the collaboration software market is estimated to be worth over $13B this year.
This trend is continuing in 2022. And tech companies are taking note of this growing need for WFH tools, as more companies are investing in these products.
Continued Growth Predicted
According to data collected by collaboration software vendors, the collaborative software market has been steadily growing since 2015 when it generated an estimated $7.05B. Experts predict that this sector will show significant growth until 2024, by which time they expect this market will be worth a staggering $13.58B. As more businesses make the transition to remote work models, these predicted numbers could even be surpassed.
What These Statistics Mean For You
These statistics are relevant for two reasons. Firstly, it shows that more and more companies are serious about switching to remote or hybrid work models. This is good news for those of you wanting to transition to remote work because it shows that more companies will be offering remote work positions.
Secondly, it indicates that investment in companies that produce WFH tools may be a profitable decision. If you are involved in producing this tech or have invested in a company that does, the growth of remote work will prove to be financially lucrative for you.
Remote Work Happiness
While the benefits of remote work are clear, it is not the ideal work model for everyone. Some people prefer to engage with their coworkers, supervisors or clients face to face. And when working remotely, these people may suffer from loneliness which will affect their productivity.
Studies into this topic seem to indicate that this issue is largely overcome after the first year. But it can also lead to remote workers pushing themselves too hard in a bid to distract themselves from feelings of isolation.
New Remote Workers May Suffer Loneliness And Depression
According to a Fiverr study, 30% of respondents indicated that a lack of community challenged their remote work happiness the most. And 33% of newcomers to remote work (working remotely for under a year) were likely to experience loneliness.
As remote work becomes the norm for more people across the US and worldwide, this is an issue that needs to be addressed.
Remote Work Productivity
No business will succeed if its employees are not engaged and productive. While remote work promises a healthy work/life balance, it is not an ideal work situation for everyone.
People who live alone may find that they feel very isolated, having lost the social connections with colleagues in-office. And those with families, especially young children, may struggle to focus on work with the demands of family life all around them during the day.
Depending on the type of work and the experience of the worker, a degree of coaching or mentoring may be lost outside of the office. The reality is that most people enjoy having others around them during their day, and Zoom calls do not always meet this need.
Much has been said about how much more productive remote workers can be. This is supposedly due to a less stressful work environment, and the falling away of a need to commute to the office. But are they really more productive?
How Productive Do Remote Workers Believe They Are?
Findings from extensive research conducted by Zippia show that 16% of US businesses are now fully remote. There are expected to be as many as 36.2 million remote employees in the US by the year 2025.
With more and more businesses switching to a remote or hybrid model, it is important to know how productive remote workers can be. So just how productive are they?
While 68% of the American workforce would prefer to be fully remote, only 40% of remote workers surveyed believe that they’ve been more productive while working remotely.
Productivity vs A Work/Life Balance
In commentary on studies by Airtasker on the productivity of remote workers published by businessnewsdaily, remote employees are found to be more productive than their office-bound counterparts.
They were found to work 1.4 more days per month than in-office employees. This will result in more than 3 additional weeks of work in a year. But 29% of those remote employees struggle with their work-life balance, and 31% need to sometimes take a day off for their mental health.
They further recommended that although remote workers are more productive, regular breaks throughout the day would enhance this.
How Efficient Is The Fully Remote Work Model As Opposed To A Hybrid Model?
Research findings were published in Forbes by Forbes Business Council member, Artis Rozentals, CEO of Desktime. His aim was to highlight this issue, from the perspective of efficiency of remote vs hybrid work.
In January 2022, a 2-week survey was conducted by his team asking 2288 respondents to indicate whether they were working in-office, remotely, or in a hybrid format. Their individual productivity data was assessed, and the results were interesting.
Those who were identified as fully remote workers worked almost an hour more per day than their in-office and hybrid counterparts. In-office workers were less productive than fully remote workers, and hybrid workers were marginally more productive than fully remote workers.
This may seem to indicate that remote work is more productive than in-office work. But Rozentals’ team noted that remote workers are probably more productive due to putting in longer working hours.
Corporate Wellness
Remote work can lead to bouts of loneliness and frustration. A wellness stipend can be of great benefit. So we looked at how many companies offer wellness and mental health perks.
Are Businesses Investing In Their Employees’ Wellness?
Wellness Creative Co did some research into the corporate wellness trends in 2022.
They found that the global corporate wellness market will reach an estimated $66 billion in 2022. And that approximately three-quarters of large companies, and just over a third of small companies, run their own wellness programs.
In Conclusion
We believe that people should be able to work from anywhere. So we set out to discover if the facts about remote work back up the claims made for this work model. And the statistics about the state of remote work in 2022 seem to support these claims.
Work-from-home software is more readily available than ever. More and more companies are transitioning to this new approach to the workday. And best of all, the remote workers themselves confirm that they are more productive than they would be if office-bound.
