Since early 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic took hold and began to have a devastating impact on the economies of the US and other countries throughout the world, work-from-home jobs became the norm. Telecommuting – once considered as a perk that some employers offered to their most valued workers – became a life line to companies attempting to keep their business afloat in the midst of quarantine and widespread stay-at-home directives. As the year progressed, an increasing number of employees became accustomed to telecommuting and a growing percentage of their employers came to realize the benefits that remote work brought to their companies. The following statistics demonstrate the extent to which all of us are settling into telecommuting as our new normal.

Work-from-Home Job Statistics

• According to a FlexJobs survey, 96% of workers want to engage in some type of remote work, with 65% expressing a desire to work full-time from home and 31% wanting to work remotely on a part-time basis.
• The FlexJobs survey also found that 81% of respondents felt more committed to their employers if they were offered the opportunity to work from home, and 27% reported that they would be willing to work for a lower salary if they were given the option to telecommute.
• According to a survey conducted by FlexJobs and Mental Health America, workers who were given the opportunity to work from home enjoyed better overall mental health than people who work strictly in an office environment.
• A recent Gartner survey found that 80% of company owners/managers intend to continue allowing workers to telecommute even after the pandemic, and a surprising 47% plan to allow full-time telecommuting by their staff members.
• According to a recent study conducted by WalletHub, some states are more remote-work friendly than others. Based on data points that include the number of telecommuters, Internet accessibility, utility costs, and average and median square footage of homes (to name a few), this research indicates that Delaware, Washington, and New Hampshire offered workers the most favorable conditions for telecommuting. (Yet an obvious benefit for employees is the option of living and working wherever they please.)
• Recent research conducted by Upwork found that nearly 42% of the entire American workforce is currently working remotely.

These statistics and countless others collected over the past several months indicate that work-from-home jobs are, in fact, our new normal. Not only are employees happy to work remotely; business owners and managers have come to realize the benefits as well – benefits such as lower overhead due to the reduced need for office space, increased employee loyalty, and the ability to attract high quality new hires. Since it’s obvious that telecommuting is here to stay, why not take advantage of the technological tools that are specifically designed for managers of remote workers? MySammy is one excellent example. Our cloud-based software was created to accurately measure the productivity levels of telecommuters. As a manager of a remote team, you can’t be there physically to supervise your workers, but MySammy can. And we do it without the need for “spyware” or website-blocking software. Sign up for your free trial of MySammy today!