The Latest on Remote Work: It’s Still Preferred by Most Employees But…

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The threat of COVID-19 has been significantly lowered this year. People have long gone out to dine at restaurants, shop at their favorite stores, and attend social gatherings. However, there is one life aspect that has barely changed since the onset of the pandemic: work arrangement. Remote work is still the dominant working model in the United States. In fact, recent figures reveal that 58% of employed Americans still work from home at least once a week while 35% do so for the whole week. And this covers both blue-collar and white-collar jobs.

The ability to work remotely, based on a 2022 McKinsey study, is attractive to most employees. 87% of opportunity seekers take jobs that offer flexible working conditions, foremost of which is remote work. Not doing so can lead to companies missing out on talent. A 2021 survey found that 44% of employees who were denied remote work had quit or were planning to quit their jobs. And businesses have to comply given that 69% of them have trouble filling open positions.

The duration of remote work varies, but most companies lean toward giving employees nearly the entire week to work from home. Of all remote employees, 32% are allowed to work five or more days a week, 18% for two days, 16% for three days, 13% for one day, and 10% for four days. Only 13% strictly perform in-office work.

Although an industry giant like Tesla has mandated a full-time return to the office, other big players like Apple and Google continue to adopt flexible work policies. Progressive enterprises such as Airbnb and Shopify pushed the envelope even further and enabled their workforce to work remotely full-time.

However, working remotely does have its share of challenges. Certain conditions have been keeping employees and companies from performing optimally.

Obstacles that Hound Remote Workers

Remote work might be preferred by most employees but the arrangement doesn’t exactly flow milk and honey all the time. Work-from-home employees face a wide variety of obstacles, from health concerns to professional aims. McKinsey’s study reports that 29% of remote workers struggle with childcare demands, 27% do so with adult care, 27% have internet issues, 26% fail to conjure their true working personas, 25% don’t have access to stable housing, and another 25% have trouble learning new skills.

The inability to pick up new skills ties in with the preferences of job seekers. While flexible working conditions are a top priority of 21% of aspirants, according to the latest remote work and telecommuting statistics, these are outranked by higher pay (47%) and better career opportunities (27%). Learning new skills or enhancing current ones leads to greater pay and more fruitful opportunities.

Fortunately, colleges and massive online course providers offer flexible programs that can help bridge skill gaps. The same goes for the online training programs of some companies. Moreover, given the prevalence of mental health issues, 71% of employees admit that their companies increased their focus on these concerns. However, only 25% say that their employers followed through with this initiative.

There is certainly a lot of room for improvement in today’s remote and hybrid work arrangements as certain concerns are still unresolved. And it will probably take time before better solutions are discovered and adopted. But one thing’s for sure, remote work isn’t going away anytime soon. Companies and employees have more than enough time to find ways to make their working conditions more ideal than what they are today.