Remote work's diehard fans finally gain some cheery news
John Ville started his career with big-city office roles in London and San Francisco. But he and his family wanted to live somewhere calmer, more spacious and more affordable.
Last year, that wish came true. Ville switched jobs, signing on to work remotely in Fleetwood, Pa., about 60 miles northwest of Philadelphia, as a senior director focusing on content and brand. His new employer: OneTrust, an Atlanta-based privacy management company.?
“Geography shouldn’t restrict where you work,” says Ville — and a lot of other U.S. professionals agree with him. In recent weeks, there’s been a surprising uptick in remote work, according to the latest edition of LinkedIn’s Workforce Confidence Index, which surveyed 5,860 U.S. professionals from Jan.14 through Jan. 27.
As the chart above shows, working onsite has been the most common pattern among U.S. professionals since April 2021 — but it’s not the whole story.
Zoom in on the past two months, and you’ll see that remote work’s long, gradual slump is reversing, at least in the short term. In November 2022, there was a 30-point gap between the share of professionals working onsite (55%) versus those working remotely (25%). Now, the divergence has narrowed to just 22 points.
Remote work’s popularity has risen to 28%, as of the latest Workforce Confidence survey. Hybrid work is now at 18%, while the share of professionals working onsite has waned to just 50%.?
It’s hard to know whether this unexpected swing is just a blip — or a realignment with some staying power. Most recent data has painted a gloomier picture for remote work. That includes this LinkedIn analysis of a dropoff in remote job listings, as well as the news that Manhattan’s once-empty office buildings now have achieved 50% capacity.
If remote work is picking up new fans, a variety of factors could be driving this comeback, starting with harsh winter weather. “My first real work-from-home experience was during the 2013 winter in Boston,” career counselor Jordan Carroll relates. “There was no way to get to my office with the amount of snow on the ground.”
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Back in January 2021, Workforce Confidence data showed a similar, brief spike in remote work, too. These surveys reflect professionals’ self-reported status, rather than what might be officially logged into employers’ records. So the latest upturn could be sensitive to employees’ own ad hoc switches. ?
Remote work’s rising popularity also may reflect job candidates’ ability to improvise unique work arrangements without being limited to officially posted opportunities.?
Wes Pearce, a Lexington, Ky., career counselor specializing in remote placements, advises clients to take a two-step approach to job-hunting. First scour job boards to identify remote-friendly employers, Pearce says. Then look for personal connections that can help you win an informational interview with someone at the company. That can open the door to remote work possibilities that mightn’t ever be advertised.
Eilis Wasserman, a career expert and introvert advocate, has become a valued program manager for Muncie, Ind.-based Shafer Leadership Academy, even though she lives in Michigan. That wasn’t the official plan when she was hired, but it’s worked out well for everyone.
One extra clue emerges from a look at how the Workforce Confidence findings vary, depending on the size of organizations at which professionals are working. For the Jan. 14 through Jan. 27 period, the highest percentage of remote work (33%) was at large organizations of 1,000 or more employees.??
By contrast, remote-work status dwindles to 26% of professionals at small organizations (1 to 200 employees) and amounts to 27% for professionals at medium-sized organizations (201 to 1,000 employees).?
Methodology
LinkedIn’s Workforce Confidence Index is based on a quantitative online survey distributed to members via email every two weeks. Roughly 3,000 to 5,000 U.S.-based members respond to each wave. Members are randomly sampled and must be opted into research to participate. Students, stay-at-home partners and retirees are excluded from analysis so we can get an accurate representation of those currently active in the workforce. We analyze data in aggregate and will always respect member privacy. Data is weighted by engagement level to ensure fair representation of various activity levels on the platform. The results represent the world as seen through the lens of LinkedIn’s membership; variances between LinkedIn’s membership and the overall market population are not accounted for.
Allison Lewis and Sharon Resheff from LinkedIn Market Research contributed to this article
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2 年I think flexibility is key. If it's a remote position being able to have opportunities to meet your coworkers, in an informal setting is always nice. It is nice to see the faces of the people we work with. At the same time I think remote work opens the door for more accessible options for people. Working in person is helpful but it's not always necessary and depending on how an organization functions I personally think sometimes it isn't as productive. Again back to my initial statement I think employers just need to have flexibility and work with their employees. Work shouldn't be a one size fits all option and I hope that employers consider that when deciding between remote, in person and hybrid settings.
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2 年These numbers don't add up 28+50+18 = 86% what about the other 14% this article is missing a key piece of information which it makes it misleading. Please provide objective reporting
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