Aug 2, 2022

57 Remote Work Stats: Trends in Modern Work

If the past two years have taught us anything, it’s that work is never going back to the way it was before.

Before COVID-19, working outside the office was primarily viewed as an exception to the rule; in 2019, less than 6% of the American workforce worked from home. But in May 2020, the percentage of the American workforce working from home suddenly jumped to over 33%.

Loom has been a hybrid-remote company since its founding in 2016. Major tech companies, including Spotify, Infosys, Salesforce, and Uber, offer flexible options. The future of remote work is now. 

We’ve rounded up the most interesting and, in some cases, surprising remote work stats that we’ve gathered in our reports over the last two years. Despite expectations to the contrary, WFH did not harm productivity or working relationships. 

Click to jump to a category, or keep reading for our top remote work trends at a glance. 

Top Remote Work Statistics

These are the most interesting remote work trends we think you should know. 

Remote Work Productivity Stats

These stats about productivity prove that remote work is here to stay. 

  • It takes us 23 minutes to redirect your attention after a distraction. (University of California Irvine)

  • 50.5% of respondents said they encounter fewer distractions when working from home than when in the office. (Loom, The State of Modern Work)

  • 59.4% of respondents claim their work productivity is better when working from home than it was in the office. (Loom, The State of Modern Work)

  • 47% of respondents believe that a hybrid work environment is optimal for productivity. 29% would prefer to be entirely in-person. 24% of those surveyed would prefer to work fully remotely. (Loom, The State of Modern Work)

  • Those surveyed believe that their productivity could improve by 58.8% if they had better data storage or file sharing tools. (Loom, The State of Modern Work)

We found some surprising statistics when it comes to employee well-being in the hybrid workforce. When workers feel like they belong in the workplace, it can increase their job performance by up to 56% and reduce turnover risk by 50%

How Working Remotely Has Improved Jobs.

Sourced from our report on Rethinking Modern Work Communication.

  • 87% of workers can identify ways that working remotely and using digital communication tools have improved their job. 

  • 57% feel they have more flexibility to plan out their day

  • 34% feel more comfortable participating in conversations

  • 32% feel they’ve been able to build relationships with coworkers they wouldn’t have met in-person

Work From Home vs. Hybrid vs. In-Person Statistics

The never-ending debate comparing fully work-from-home, entirely in-person, and hybrid office models began way back in the 70s with the invention of personal computers. It really took off in 2020, of course, during the pandemic. Here are the most exciting stats that reveal what really matters in this discussion. 

  • 82% indicated they would allow employees to work remotely in some capacity. (Gartner)

  • Managers estimated they spent 66.4% working from home, while employees estimated that they spent 64.4%. (Loom, The State of Modern Work)

  • Managers estimated that they spent 40.6% of their time working alone, while employees estimated they spent 45.3% of their time working alone. (Loom, The State of Modern Work)

  • Only 1.8% of employees stated they would be dissatisfied with working from home. (Loom, The State of Modern Work)

  • 50% of leaders say they’ll bring teams back to the office full-time this year, while 52% of workers say they want remote or hybrid jobs. (CNBC, Zippia)

  • 74% of companies are using or plan to implement a permanent hybrid work model. (The Ladders)

  • 25% of professional jobs paying over $100,000 per year are expected to offer fully remote or hybrid options by the end of 2023. (The Ladders)

  • 54% of workers say they’d leave their current job for one that provides more flexibility. (Loom’s Collaboration Report)

Remote Work Meetings Statistics

You might be shocked by how much time and emotional energy is spent on meetings in the modern workforce. 

Communication might be the most challenging part of the transition to a hybrid or remote model. While communication and employee relationships can be improved, some aspects could be improved as communication technology evolves. 

Most used workplace communication tools 

Sourced from our report on Rethinking Modern Work Communication.

The average office worker’s daily message counts

Sourced from our report on Rethinking Modern Work Communication.

  • 32 emails

  • 21 instant messages or chats

  • 13 text messages

  • 12 one-on-one phone call

Conclusion

The optimal workplace might not actually exist. But with stats like these, we can see what improvements can be made to keep work-from-home, hybrid, and even in-person employees happy. Deciding how you’ll change your company in the modern work environment is the first step. 

Running a distributed team can be challenging. Whether you decide to start using asynchronous communication, better your tech stack, or simply implement a hybrid work environment in the first place – we hope these stats help you make a more informed decision.