Why the Remote Workforce is Rapidly Becoming the Norm and What are the Benefits of Working from Home
When you think about a morning commute, what goes through your head? Driving on the highway, taking a bus, or getting on the subway or train? Whatever comes to mind, the “morning commute” for a rising number of people is simply getting from their bed to whatever home office they have set up (or local coffee shop).
That’s all thanks to the rising trend of work at home employees, a trend that accelerated in early 2020. Remote workers are not just a select handful of employees or represent a few professions either. The remote workforce is rapidly becoming the norm across industries, and you need to be prepared for this continuing shift taking place.
8 Statistics You Need to Know About Work at Home Programs
Work at home programs are continually sought after by job seekers and employees at their current companies, and it’s not hard to understand why: the lure of no commute, a more comfortable environment, and the opportunity to spend more time with their family almost falls into the “too good to be true” category of life. But what should you know about work at home employees? Here are 8 work from home statistics you need to know:
- Though you might visualize the typical work at home agent to be in his or her mid-twenties, over half of telecommuters are 45 years old or older.
- A study by the Society for Human Resource Management found that more companies were planning on introducing work at home opportunities over any other benefit.
- Although they may work remotely, these employees are not on their own. An estimated 70 percent of the global workforce is given the option to work at home at least one day per week. Per the 2018 American Community Service data, 6 percent of the U.S. workforce worked at home a minimum of half the workweek. That’s 5 million people working a majority of the time at home. Almost 24 percent or 26.2 million people worked at home on an average day.
- Working from home is quite a money saver for the employee and employer. Businesses enabling employees to work at home save over $11,000 a year per half-time telecommuter. The employee saves more than $4,000 per year by spending less on items like gas, food, auto repairs, etc.
- Sound too good to be true? Consider this: in 2013-2014, “Federal employees in Washington, who worked from home during four official snow days, saved the government an estimated $32 million.” That’s hardly small change! Per the 2019 Telework Report to Congress, not all agencies are able to collect cost savings information yet, but the ones who do experienced significant savings. For example, the Department of justice saved $5.5 million, and the General Services Administration saved $30.6 million. Add the amounts up for dozens of agencies, and the federal government saves hundreds of millions of dollars each year.
- From 2005 to 2017 there was a humongous surge in work at home employees. How big? A 159% increase in telecommuting occurred during that time.
- With a leap that big you might think the remote workforce push is slowing down. Not so. In fact, expect working from home to increase.Studies show incredible growth, with one projecting 73 percent of all work teams having remote workers by 2028.
- Worried about productivity? Don't be. There are plenty of examples how work at home programs can help increase productivity. An Airtasker study found that remote workers averaged 1.4 more days of work each month or 16.8 days annually.
What Can These Work at Home Statistics Teach Us?
Work at home programs are rapidly being rolled out, much to the benefit of the employee and employer. The remote agent is much happier without sacrificing work ethic or performance, and the employer is getting a much higher ROI while keeping up with the rising trends and demands of what a job candidate might expect from their employer. Simply put: get on board now with work at home programs – you’ll gain a competitive edge, have a much higher employee satisfaction rate, and your company will gain more because of it.
Topics: Talent Selection Ideas