The State of Modern Remote Work

Discussions around remote work are common today. It has very clear positives, no commute, more free time, more freedom in general. Although employers aren’t particularly fond of it, and some worry about the social isolation and potential inefficiency of workers. So what is the state of remote work, and how does it differ from the past?

The pandemic brought remote work into the cultural spotlight unlike ever before. Countless industries found a way to operate remotely, and workers loved it. Even today 98% of workers would like to work remotely, at least partially. Yet this isn’t reflected by how common remote work is today.

Remote work has been steadily dropping each year following the pandemic. Today 12.7% of U.S employees work remotely the majority of the time. In 2020 this number was at 35%. Although compared to the pre pandemic low of 5.7% in 2019 it’s exponentially higher. So with this all in mind, what can be expected from the future?

The first step in moving forward is remote work stabilizing. Once the pandemics effects are completely gone remote work can stabilize, and eventually grow. Remote work is undeniably more popular than before the pandemic, but the question is by how much. Is it enough to cause noticeable changes in how workplaces operate?

Today remote workers are more efficient, show up more, and quit less. Employers have every logical reason to prioritize this form of work, but the culture hasn’t caught up. Currently employers still think remote work produces lazy workers, and for employees it can be isolating.

And that’s the state of remote work in the U.S today. It’s popular with employees, it’s effective, but it’s still very new and is declining in practice. There are lots of kinks to get out in terms of its implementation for it to grow. Employers also need to be more educated on the exact effects remote work has on employees. It certainly has a future in the U.S, but the question is if it can start to grow in implementation moving forward.