According to economist, being beneficial for both workers and employers, remote work is not going away!
Remote work became widespread during the Covid-19 pandemic, and economists believe it has become a permanent feature of the U.S. job market. According to Nick Bunker, economic research director for North America at Indeed, the shift to work-from-home is “one of the major shifts in the U.S. labor market in the last couple decades”, and he believes this trend is here to stay.
Remote work includes both fully remote jobs and hybrid ones, where employees split their time between working from home and the office. Before the pandemic, these arrangements were uncommon, but they became widespread due to stay-at-home orders. Although the availability of them has decreased from its pandemic peak, it has stabilized at levels significantly higher than before Covid-19.
Data from WFH Research shows that the number of work-from-home days during the workweek has been steady since early 2023, ranging between 25% and 30%. This is more than three times higher than before the pandemic. Additionally, as of June 30, around 8% of online job listings are for remote or hybrid positions, which is nearly three times the rate in 2019, according to Indeed.
Why Remote Work Is Still A Thing
Remote work offers advantages to both employees and employers. Research by Bloom indicates that employees value hybrid work arrangements almost as much as they would an 8% pay raise. Bunker added that this preference makes it challenging for companies to eliminate work-from-home.
For businesses, remote work can be cost-effective. For example, companies may save on office space by reducing the size of their physical locations. Additionally, the ability to hire from a broader geographic area can make recruitment easier. Employees who work remotely also tend to stay with their companies longer, which reduces costs associated with hiring and training new staff.
However, some companies have expressed concerns about remote work, citing difficulties in monitoring employees and a decrease in peer mentoring, with 45% and 42% of employers mentioning these issues, respectively, in a 2023 ZipRecruiter survey.
An economic downturn might lead some employers to reduce remote work if employees have less bargaining power. However, Bunker doubts many companies would make this change due to the financial benefits it offers. He also noted that reducing remote work could lower employee morale and productivity, especially when morale is already low.