- Quality Of Life At Work Statistics
Research Summary: The COVID-19 Pandemic has shaken up the way we work well into the conceivable future. Even as many are returning to the office, work-from-home remains a viable and popular option.
To find out more about how Americans have returned to work, we’ve gathered all of the most interesting trends and statistics. According to our extensive research:
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68% of Americans prefer remote work over in-person work.
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83% of employers say the shift to remote work has been successful.
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68% of employers say employees should be in the office at least three days a week to maintain company culture.
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64% of remote workers would consider quitting if forced to go back to the office full time.
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56% of remote workers feel comfortable returning to the office.
For further analysis, we broke down the data in the following ways:
Employee Opinions | Employer Opinions | Issues With Returning
General Return to Work Statistics
To understand the current landscape of the American workplace, we’ve gathered some interesting general facts about returning to work. According to our research:
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Roughly 50% of Americans participate in hybrid work.
While 30% work fully remotely and 20% work entirely on-site. For context, only just over 20% of Americans were remote workers in 2019.
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48% of adults intend to seek out a remote work position for their next job.
In fact, jobs with hybrid or remote working options attract 7x as many candidates when compared to less flexible job postings.
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38% of workers would prefer to be on-site at least 40-60% of the time.
While 37% would prefer to be on-site less than 40% of the time, and 24% would like to be in the office more than 60% of the time.
Amount of Time Spent on Site for Workers
Time spent on site Share of workers 1%-10% 8% 10%-40% 29% 40%-60% 38% 60%-80% 16% 80%-100% 8%
Employee Opinions on Remote, Hybrid and In-Office Jobs
Not all employees feel the same about returning to work. Some prefer their remote positions, while others are aching for just a few hours in the office. Overall, according to our research:
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61% of current remote workers intend to work under a hybrid model.
Many of the current remote workers plan on transitioning to hybrid work, while 27% would like to remain fully remote, and only 9% would like to return to the office.
Percentage of Those Who Plan on Adopting Type of Work Model
All remote workers Percentage of those who plan on adopting this model Fully remote 27% Hybrid 61% Fully on-site 9% -
87% of employees say the office is important for collaborating with team members.
For many industries, building rapport with your coworkers is an important part of any successful project. With that in mind, many employees are worried that remote work hinders the ability to build relationships in the workplace.
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97% of workers desire some form of remote work.
Split between those who like the idea of fully remote or hybrid work, the US workforce has never been more eager to cut down hours in the office.
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40% of workers believe they are more productive working from home.
And there’s a reason why, as studies show an average 13% increase in productivity for remote workers. Factors that contribute to this increased productivity include reduced stress and a better work-life balance.
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38% of employees want full autonomy over when to come into the office.
A considerable percentage of employees like the idea of choosing when they want to come into the office, as opposed to having structure imposed by their employer. For many, this system would best maintain the flexibility they had when working fully remotely.
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21% of workers are willing to give up vacation time for flexible work options.
And that’s not all, as at least 16% would give up employer-matching retirement contributions. The two of these factors combined have the potential to save employers thousands of dollars.
Employer Opinions on Remote, Hybrid and In-Office Jobs
Employers also have important opinions on how employees should return to work, especially when it affects their bottom line. To find out more about what employers are thinking, here are some insights our research uncovered:
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50% of companies want employees back in the office full-time.
However, this desire hasn’t been met with action quite yet, as only 4% of employers in the US so far have required workers to return to the office full-time.
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83% of employers say the shift to remote work has been successful.
That’s up just over 13% from 2020 when 73% of employers said the same. Either way, though, remote work has been a surprising success for many companies.
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29% of executives say employees should be in the office at least three days a week to maintain company culture.
This number is even higher for all employers, as 68% agree that some days in the office are essential for maintaining company culture.
Issues With Returning to the Office
The reason why many employers have chosen either not to return employees to the office or to do so very slowly relates to the issues that have arisen with doing so. According to our research:
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Only 45% of employees say their company has been successful in extending childcare benefits.
As opposed to the 81% of executives who say the same, meaning there’s a significant disconnect between what employers and employees deem successful.
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54% of hybrid workers would consider leaving their job if asked to return to the office.
Much of this disdain for working on-site comes from a desire for flexibility, as 32% of hybrid workers plan to stay in their current job due to the flexibility of working from home, and 28% for the flexibility of scheduling.
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58% of Americans want to switch to a full-time remote job.
With the majority having this preference, it makes returning to the office even more difficult. Another reason why even if employers want employees to return to on-site work, many haven’t tried implementing those changes yet.
Return To Work Statistics FAQ
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What percentage of remote workers returned to the office?
49% of remote employees have returned to the office full-time as of 2022. However, returning to the office full-time isn’t exactly popular with most remote workers. 68% of Americans prefer working remotely, and 97% of workers desire some form of either remote or hybrid work.
Combined, these factors make it difficult for employers to justify making employees return to the office, even if half of them desire it.
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Why do people want to back to the office?
The main reasons some employers and employees want to return to the office are for socialization and to maintain company culture. More specifically, 87% of employees say the office is important for collaborating with team members, and 68% of employers say employees should be in the office at least three days a week to maintain company culture.
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Are people happier working from home?
Yes, people are, on average, 20% happier working from home. There are many reasons this is the case, but here are a few of the most prominent:
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Lack of a commute
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Flexibility in scheduling
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Improved work-life-balance
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Increased productivity
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Less stress
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Do employees prefer hybrid work?
Yes, 61% of employees prefer a hybrid working model. Hybrid work is by far the most popular option for most employees, with 67% of them saying they want to work on-site between 10-60% of the time.
And many take the idea of hybrid work very seriously as well, as 54% of hybrid workers would consider leaving their job if asked to return to the office.
Conclusion
The American workforce is very diverse, with many different preferences on how we should all return to work. While 97% of workers do desire some form of remote work, a hybrid working model is by far the most popular.
Despite the fact that 50% of companies want their workers to return to the office, only 9% of workers intend to work fully remotely. In fact, 61% intend to work under a hybrid model, and 27% fully remotely.
Overall, there are considerable pros and cons to both working remotely and on-site. Remote workers have better work-life balance and improved productivity, while on-site workers have more efficient teams and maintain company culture. Perhaps hybrid work is a good way to bridge these benefits and allow Americans to return to work most effectively.
References:
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ValuePenguin – 68% of U.S. Employees Prefer Remote Work Over In-Person Work
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PWC – It’s time to reimagine where and how work will get done
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CNBC – 64% of workers would consider quitting if asked to return to the office full-time
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Gallup – Returning to the Office: The Current, Preferred and Future State of Remote Work
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SHRM – Nearly Half of Workers Are ‘Definitely Looking’ to Work Remotely
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Gallup – The Future of Hybrid Work: 5 Key Questions Answered With Data
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Flexjobs – Remote Work Stats & Trends: Navigating Work From Home Jobs
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CNBC – 50% of companies want workers back in office 5 days a week–why experts say this strategy could fail
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Quartz – Covid crushed company culture—but something better will take its place
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HubSpot – Back to the Office? Remote and Hybrid Employees Would Rather Quit [Data from 1000 Consumers]
- Quality Of Life At Work Statistics
Author
Jack Flynn is a writer for Zippia. In his professional career he’s written over 100 research papers, articles and blog posts. Some of his most popular published works include his writing about economic terms and research into job classifications. Jack received his BS from Hampshire College.
