Working from a physical location could soon become a thing of the past. The pandemic upended most businesses across the world, including the idea of working from morning to evening in an office to be productive.
A new study has found that more than 50% of Americans are engaging in some kind of remote work. Consultancy firm McKinsey & Company indicates that how people in the US want to work and where they would like to do it from is becoming of high value in the current world.
The study surveyed 25,000 workers in the spring of 2022 regarding job flexibility, in which 58% of individuals indicated that they do work remotely at least one day per week. Also, an additional 35% reported that they were working from home the whole week. Interestingly 13% of the subjects indicated that they could work from home but decided not to.
Almost every job sector is making available the alternative of working from home, including blue-collar jobs that traditionally have been requiring on-site presence. However, 41% of the respondents indicate that they don’t have a choice regarding working remotely because not all jobs can be performed from home, and some employers require onsite presence.
Those that preferred remote working, either part-time or full-time, were workers in the tech or digital space using mathematics and computers. The other employee that is likely to prefer remote working is those in financial or business operations, while those in the least demand for work flexibility include those in the food service, food preparation, production, and protective services.
According to the survey, 87% of the respondents indicated that they would take remote working if their employee was offering it. This was irrespective of occupation, geography, or demographics.
In addition, some workers have quit due to having to go back to the office. According to the poll, the third most common reason people started looking for new jobs or quit their jobs during the epidemic was a flexible work schedule.