According to a recent survey, almost two-thirds of Americans now have the option to work from home at least once a week.
The rise of video conferencing software and other remote tools in the workplace since the start of the Pandemic has not been a huge shock.
It’s surprising that 35% of the US labor force have the option to work from home.
Data shows a wide range of industries and sectors can now be found working remotely. The working-from- home boom has spread to all corners of the economy.
The third edition of McKinsey’s American Opportunity Survey collected data from over 25,000 Americans in Hawaii, Alaska, and the continental United States.
According to the report, 85% of workers say yes when offered flexible or remote working arrangements. It will be difficult for companies to hire new staff if they don’t have that option.
“The flexible working world was born of a frenzied reaction to a sudden crisis but has remained as a desirable job feature for millions” – McKinsey
Flexible working arrangements came third behind better career opportunities and greater pay or hours, when respondents were asked about the motivating factors that would lead to them looking for a new job.
When candidates are choosing between two financially identical job offers, their decision is likely to be swayed by the working arrangement on offer.
According to McKinsey, 92 million workers are now in jobs where they have been offered flexible work and 80 million are engaged in it.
In every part of the country and sector of the economy, including traditionally labeled “blue-collar” jobs that might be expected to demand on-site labor as well as “white collar” professions, the option to work from home is available.
20% of full-time transportation/material staff reported that they could work from home, while 9% of part-time employees in the industry said they had remote working availability.
18% of full-time food preparation workers said they could work from home at least some of the time, while 15% of part-timers did the same.
Farming, fishing, and building were some sectors with surprising numbers of workers reporting remote working availability.
When huge swathes of the workforce suddenly were forced to work remotely, the question of whether such a drastic change to working habits would stick, and whether it would mean less work is completed, was open.
The adoption of remote-working technology is one of the reasons this move is becoming permanent. We all understand the benefits and limitations of technology like this, so we are more than happy to keep using it.
Project management software is being brought in to help with the transition to hybrid working, as well as VoIP software to replace physical office phones.
There are pros and cons to how you organize your team or business. The survey shows that if you don’t offer flexible working arrangements in 2022, you’ll get left behind.
Did you find this article helpful? Click on one of the following buttons
