State of Telecommuting: 115% More Americans Consider Home Their Workplace

If you’re visiting Remote.co, you probably understand that remote work is a growing trend, with more individuals and companies taking part than ever before. But do you know how much it’s growing?

115% over the last 10 years, according to newly analyzed data from FlexJobs and Global Workplace Analytics. And that’s only one of many interesting trends the organizations found in their research.

Researchers at Global Workplace Analytics, with support from FlexJobs, created the 2017 State of Telecommuting Report, which focuses exclusively on employees who work primarily from home.

As the report explains,

“Every year, the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey (ACS) asks members of 3.5 million households questions about where they work. The Bureau of Labor Statistics also conducts an annual nationwide survey, but both organizations only release a few basic findings in a media-friendly format.”

The 2017 State of Telecommuting Report has taken that massive amount of data and distilled it into an understandable overview, with details like remote workers’ average salaries, most common career fields, education levels, locations, and how remote work is impacting the U.S. as a whole.

Because the report doesn’t include freelancers, the self-employed, or employees who split their days between the office and home, it’s a really unique look at the prevalence of professionals who are employed by a company and consider home their primary workspace.

Let’s take a look at some of the most interesting findings of the report.

5 Key Findings from the 2017 State of Telecommuting Report:

1. Remote work is the fastest-growing commute method.

In more than half of the top U.S. metro areas, telecommuting exceeds public transportation as the commute option of choice. It has grown far faster than any other commute mode.

2. More companies are allowing remote work.

40% more U.S. employers offered flexible workplace options than they did in 2010. Larger companies are most likely to offer remote work options to most of their employees. And New England and Mid-Atlantic region employers are the most likely to offer remote work options.

[clickToTweet tweet=”40% more U.S. employers offered flexible workplace options than they did in 2010.” quote=”40% more U.S. employers offered flexible workplace options than they did in 2010.”]

3. People who work remotely save a ton of time and money every year.

Remote workers who work from home half of the time gain back 11 days a year—time they would have otherwise spent commuting.

Full-time telecommuters save over $4,000 each year. Half-time telecommuting employees save an average of $2,677 annually in commuting costs (gas, tolls, public transit passes, parking, car maintenance, etc.), food (buying out lunches, coffee), tax breaks, and professional attire upkeep (purchasing, dry cleaning, and laundering).

[clickToTweet tweet=”Full-time telecommuters save over $4,000 each year.” quote=”Full-time telecommuters save over $4,000 each year.”]

4. Companies save billions by allowing remote work.

Employers can save over $11,000 per half-time remote worker per year. Across the existing work-at-home population, that potentially adds up to $44 billion in savings.

If the remote workforce expanded to include those who could and wanted to work from home, the potential employer savings could approach $690 billion a year.

[clickToTweet tweet=”Employers can save over $11,000 per half-time remote worker per year.” quote=”Employers can save over $11,000 per half-time remote worker per year.”]