Guest post by Boriana Slabakova & Infographic credit GoRemotely.net
A Dive into Remote Work
Remote work is fast becoming the preferred way to work for many employees and employers. However, this was not the case some years back as remote work was usually associated with people working in customer support or marketing. Also, a lot of employers believe that working from home is distracting for their workers and therefore makes them inefficient and unproductive, compared to when they work from the office.
The number of people who are remote workers is significantly increasing. According to statistics, the total number of American remote workers was 57 million in 2018. That said, let’s take an even more detailed look at what remote work is, and what the stats say.
A More Detailed Approach to Working Remotely and What the Stats Say
Remote work does not involve a regular 9-to-5 job and does not mean working from home only or one particular location. You may work from home today, and find yourself working from a library or a school the next day.
Working remotely is quite different from having a typical office job and a fixed work schedule. However, it requires a lot of self-discipline as some workers are often less motivated when not in the office. Many employers are not eager to allow their employees to work from home unless they believe that such individuals will be efficient, irrespective of where they work.
The benefits of remote work are numerous, but still, some argue that it is not as efficient as working from a standard company office. These statistics will provide us with better insights.
- Employees who work remotely put in an extra 1.12 hours a day than the office workers; this is 17 additional days in a year.
- 22% of office workers say that their bosses distract them, while 15% of remote workers have a similar opinion.
- 40% of remote workers choose remote work because it allows flexible work schedules.
- Working remotely reduces stress levels. So, unlike working from the office, employees are more relaxed, and also more efficient.
- Remote work keeps many businesses and companies running in times of global crises or pandemics, such as the recent COVID-19 outbreak.
If you want to learn more, the infographic below provides more insights into remote work.
Infographic credit: GoRemotely.net
