Will remote work continue to expand?

This article was originally published on Quora .

Globally 70% of us work remotely at least once a week. Far fewer people operate remotely full time (2–5% of Americans work remotely full time) but this group will continue to expand as technology makes more jobs remote compatible, and business needs make remote work more and more appealing.

Remote work has expanded rapidly because it’s a workforce trend driven by both employers and employees. Workers want the added flexibility of being able to work remotely, either from home or on the go. Employers can save costs by reducing their in office staff and equipment, and by going remote can access a global talent pool to augment their local network.

This article was originally published on Quora.

Finally, there’s a compelling environmental argument for remote work. Working from home reduces emissions and eases the burden on over-stressed public transit systems. For companies that are concerned about climate change, transitioning some or all of their workforce to remote working is win win.

I don’t think we’ll ever reach a point where all work is done remotely. In office and on site work is important and not even uptake of AI and robotics will eliminate the need for real, human, in person work. But will more people work from home in the future? At this point I think that’s an undeniable fact. Remote work will continue to grow because it needs to.