Those hoping for a gradual end to remote work could have a long wait ahead of them. A January New York Times article found that remote work is likely to remain strong despite a slowing economy, according to economists. A group of researchers from Stanford University, the University of Chicago and Instituto Tecnologico Autonomo de Mexico in Mexico City, Mexico, shared remote roles stabilized at well above pre-pandemic levels. in 2019, around 5% of full-paid working days were completely remote, according to U.S. Census data. This increased to more than 60% in May 2020 and has remained around 30% for the past year.
Remote work is increasingly used as a tool to boost employee satisfaction and retention. A survey of senior business executives found that the expansion of remote roles is a way to “keep employees happy and to moderate wage-growth pressures” over the past year. 41% of executives plan to expand the option in the next year. A ZipRecruiter survey found on average 14% of job seekers would take a pay cut to work remotely. Currently, hybrid work is the most common with organizations allowing 1-3 days of remote work with the rest of the time in the office.
ZipRecruiter’s 2022 survey found many job seekers (60%) search for remote roles, this includes employees who plan to quit or have quit a current job to work remotely. As workers continue to feel the pinch of economic strain with growing grocery, living and commuting costs, more workers desire to reduce their work-related costs as much as possible. Younger workers are also willing to take less money to stay at home to work. This could be between 14%-18% choosing to work remotely. The recruiting site also points out the potential for remote work to scale in the sectors of technology, law, healthcare and government in the coming year.