If the past two years have taught us anything, it’s that work is never going back to the way it was before.
Before COVID-19, working outside the office was primarily viewed as an exception to the rule; in 2019, less than 6% of the American workforce worked from home. But in May 2020, the percentage of the American workforce working from home suddenly jumped to over 33%.
Loom has been a hybrid-remote company since its founding in 2016. Major tech companies, including Spotify, Infosys, Salesforce, and Uber, offer flexible options. The future of remote work is now.
We’ve rounded up the most interesting and, in some cases, surprising remote work stats that we’ve gathered in our reports over the last two years. Despite expectations to the contrary, WFH did not harm productivity or working relationships.
Click to jump to a category, or keep reading for our top remote work trends at a glance.
Top Remote Work Statistics
These are the most interesting remote work trends we think you should know.
Over 91% of those who work from home are satisfied with their at-home tech stack. (Loom, The State of Modern Work)
On average, respondents said they would be 58% more productive if their tech stack were improved. (Loom, The State of Modern Work)
53% of employees say they’re more likely to prioritize health and well-being over work than they were before the pandemic. (Loom’s Collaboration Report)
Over 90% of respondents are satisfied with working from home at least part of the time. (Loom, The State of Modern Work)
Nearly half of respondents state that 40% or more of the time spent on video conference calls was unproductive and wasteful. (Loom, The State of Modern Work)
81% of workers are currently using asynchronous video in the workplace. (Loom, Rethinking Modern Work Communication)
Remote Work Productivity Stats
These stats about productivity prove that remote work is here to stay.
It takes us 23 minutes to redirect your attention after a distraction. (University of California Irvine)
50.5% of respondents said they encounter fewer distractions when working from home than when in the office. (Loom, The State of Modern Work)
59.4% of respondents claim their work productivity is better when working from home than it was in the office. (Loom, The State of Modern Work)
47% of respondents believe that a hybrid work environment is optimal for productivity. 29% would prefer to be entirely in-person. 24% of those surveyed would prefer to work fully remotely. (Loom, The State of Modern Work)
Those surveyed believe that their productivity could improve by 58.8% if they had better data storage or file sharing tools. (Loom, The State of Modern Work)
Remote Worker Well-Being Trends
We found some surprising statistics when it comes to employee well-being in the hybrid workforce. When workers feel like they belong in the workplace, it can increase their job performance by up to 56% and reduce turnover risk by 50%.
47.8% of those surveyed claimed their working relationships were improved when they began working from home. (Loom, The State of Modern Work)
66.4% of those surveyed claimed their work/life balance was better in a WFH environment than it was working in the office. (Loom, The State of Modern Work)
58% of workers feel that being able to show their personality at work helps them stay engaged and motivated. (Loom, Rethinking Modern Work Communication)
49% of hybrid workers believe that although digital tools helped improve some of their relationships with coworkers, they could still be improved. (Loom, Rethinking Modern Work Communication)
How Working Remotely Has Improved Jobs.
Sourced from our report on Rethinking Modern Work Communication.
87% of workers can identify ways that working remotely and using digital communication tools have improved their job.
57% feel they have more flexibility to plan out their day
34% feel more comfortable participating in conversations
32% feel they’ve been able to build relationships with coworkers they wouldn’t have met in-person
Work From Home vs. Hybrid vs. In-Person Statistics
The never-ending debate comparing fully work-from-home, entirely in-person, and hybrid office models began way back in the 70s with the invention of personal computers. It really took off in 2020, of course, during the pandemic. Here are the most exciting stats that reveal what really matters in this discussion.
82% indicated they would allow employees to work remotely in some capacity. (Gartner)
Managers estimated they spent 66.4% working from home, while employees estimated that they spent 64.4%. (Loom, The State of Modern Work)
Managers estimated that they spent 40.6% of their time working alone, while employees estimated they spent 45.3% of their time working alone. (Loom, The State of Modern Work)
Only 1.8% of employees stated they would be dissatisfied with working from home. (Loom, The State of Modern Work)
50% of leaders say they’ll bring teams back to the office full-time this year, while 52% of workers say they want remote or hybrid jobs. (CNBC, Zippia)
74% of companies are using or plan to implement a permanent hybrid work model. (The Ladders)
25% of professional jobs paying over $100,000 per year are expected to offer fully remote or hybrid options by the end of 2023. (The Ladders)
54% of workers say they’d leave their current job for one that provides more flexibility. (Loom’s Collaboration Report)
Remote Work Meetings Statistics
You might be shocked by how much time and emotional energy is spent on meetings in the modern workforce.
34% of respondents believe they waste 2-5 hours per week in useless meetings. (Korn Ferry)
WFH survey participants spend around 24% of their time in planned meetings and conversations. (Loom, The State of Modern Work)
Office workers are wasting an average of one hour and 42 minutes per week scheduling and rescheduling calls – costing businesses in the U.S. $1.85 billion dollars weekly. (Loom, Rethinking Modern Work Communication)
74% of office workers use group video conferencing at least once per week, and 63% use group phone calls without video for meetings. (Loom, Rethinking Modern Work Communication)
48% of those surveyed appreciate that they can message someone instead of setting up a meeting. (Loom, Rethinking Modern Work Communication)
40% of workers surveyed find that it’s easier to connect working remotely when schedules don’t line up. (Loom, Rethinking Modern Work Communication)
90% of remote leaders in tech don’t like video meetings. (Loom, Rethinking Modern Work Communication)
32% of digital work meetings could be replaced by asynchronous recorded videos. (Loom, Rethinking Modern Work Communication)
98% of office workers experience stress from live group video conferencing.
36% feel that recorded meetings have been the best side of effect of remote work. (Loom, Rethinking Modern Work Communication)
Remote Work Communication Trends
Communication might be the most challenging part of the transition to a hybrid or remote model. While communication and employee relationships can be improved, some aspects could be improved as communication technology evolves.
76% of executives want to move away from email in favor of other communication methods. (Deloitte)
37.8% of employees feel their collaboration with colleagues is better or much better when working from home than it was working in the office. (Loom, The State of Modern Work)
56.5% of hybrid or fully remote workers want a better chat tool. (Loom, The State of Modern Work)
58.7% of hybrid or fully remote workers believe that their online meeting tools are inadequate. (Loom, The State of Modern Work)
72% of office workers are frustrated with their digital communications tools. (Loom, Rethinking Modern Work Communication)
91% of those surveyed have had digital messages misunderstood and/or misinterpreted at work. (Loom, Rethinking Modern Work Communication)
47% of workers surveyed overthink emails and messages they send. (Loom, Rethinking Modern Work Communication)
20% of employees reported that miscommunication or misinterpretation has caused them to get reprimanded, demoted, or even fired. (Loom, Rethinking Modern Work Communication)
According to 62% of office workers, miscommunication and/or miscommunication of digital messages at work affects their mental health. (Loom, Rethinking Modern Work Communication)
97% of those surveyed feel they need to add something extra in digital communication to clarify their tone. (Loom, Rethinking Modern Work Communication)
82% of those surveyed feel the need to use extra punctuation in work communications. (Loom, Rethinking Modern Work Communication)
77% felt the need to use emojis and 25% of those surveyed say they often use emojis. (Loom, Rethinking Modern Work Communication)
U.S. businesses lose at least $128 billion each year due to employees wasting time trying to communicate effectively. (Loom, Rethinking Modern Work Communication)
Most used workplace communication tools
Sourced from our report on Rethinking Modern Work Communication.
98% email
89% instant messaging or online chat
88% text messaging
The average office worker’s daily message counts
Sourced from our report on Rethinking Modern Work Communication.
32 emails
21 instant messages or chats
13 text messages
12 one-on-one phone call
Conclusion
The optimal workplace might not actually exist. But with stats like these, we can see what improvements can be made to keep work-from-home, hybrid, and even in-person employees happy. Deciding how you’ll change your company in the modern work environment is the first step.
Running a distributed team can be challenging. Whether you decide to start using asynchronous communication, better your tech stack, or simply implement a hybrid work environment in the first place – we hope these stats help you make a more informed decision.