A recent study shows that remote work is still popular among workers.
Key details
A Basking.io study shows that 50% of remote workers have come into the office once per week in the last three months. Basking.io is a Berlin-based workplace-occupancy analytics company.
The study followed first- and second-quarter remote employees which showed that 14.8% of workers came into the office four or five days per week, 34.5% came in two or three, and 50% only came once. This marks an increase from quarter one when only 43.5% of employees visited once per week.
Employees that aren’t coming into the office regularly do stay longer though. “While the number of days workers were in the office fell, the duration of visits rose, according to Basking.io, which analyzed Wi-Fi data from 100 offices of seven organizations around the world to measure changes in office space utilization,” says Bloomberg.
Why it’s important
Basking.io’s CEO Eldar Gizzatov says that the pandemic has made people accustomed to remote work and most companies don’t see a reason to return. Other CEOs disagree and have spoken about the negative impact remote work has had on company cultures, communication, mentorship, and productivity.
Apple has mandated employees return onsite for three days a week by Labor Day.
“Recession fears have many wondering whether a return-to-office crackdown might be around the corner. Major companies like Tesla Inc. and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. are at the forefront of this effort, and even bestselling author Malcolm Gladwell has said people need to be in the office to have a “sense of belonging.” Yet, many employees still feel comfortable ignoring mandates in the tight labor market, with the demand for workers far outpacing the supply,” says Bloomberg.
Backing up a bit
Remote work has manifested in different ways across different industries. Basking.io’s study suggests that fewer people are making the commute “especially in large cities,” says Bloomberg.
These patterns are also industry-specific, with retail, food service, and manufacturing jobs being full-time onsite. “Roughly 30% have hybrid arrangements, typically managers and professionals, while 15% of workers are fully remote, largely in support roles like payroll and information technology,” according to Bloomberg.
According to Pew Research, 61% of remote workers do so by choice rather than necessity.
