Remote work advantages for remote workers & companies

Let's explore briefly, based on reputable research, what are some of the advantages that remote workers and their employers enjoy when work is performed remotely.

Remote work advantages for remote workers

* less time spent in commuting traffic, with significant health benefits
* 408 hours saved on average / year by a US remote worker not commuting (Tech.co et all, per below)
* less cost associated with travel, implying more personal disposable income remains available; this is important in an inflation-affected economy
* employees that work from home are more optimistic about work (89%) than those working in the office (77%) (ADP)
* other, per below:



Interestingly, the remote work trend actually precedes the COVID pandemic:

Remote work benefits for companies

* since in 2025, 32.6 million Americans will work remote (Forbes 2024) companies offering remote work opportunities will be perceived more attractive
* Stanford study: performance boosted 22% when employees are allowed to work from home
* 47% of businesses noticed increased productivity levels amongst employees who work remotely (Tech.co)
* in an inflation-affected economy remote work means lower office-related utilities' costs for companies (16% of companies operate fully remote, without a physical office - Forbes 2024; this gives them a competitive advantage over their competition)
* USD 11K average cost savings per US employer per half-time telecommuter per year
* top talent has remote work as their top prority (Forbes)
* "Companies offering flexibility will attract the best talent” - Josh Graff, Managing Director for EMEA & LATAM, LinkedIn / Fortune, Nov 2024)
* 30% of employees do more work in less time when working remotely
* 98% of employees want to work remote at least some of the time (Forbes)
* 51% of workers would outright quit if asked to give up their new hybrid working model (YouGov and Microsoft)
* and a cautionary note: 73% of executives perceive remote workers as a greater security risk; there is a stringent need for cyber security protocols protecting remote workers; this can be done with increased VPN, cybersecurity and remote tools usage, as proven by the remote work performed successfully during the COVID-19 on-site shutdowns, which lasted several years

An elephant is also in the room: the damage done by the pollution generated by the commuting traffic, in the instances where commuting is not necessary for the work being performed. One could say that, perhaps, it's just bad economics, spending time and money to commute and generate toxic gases affecting everybody when this is not necessary and the required productivity can be maintained while working remotely.

If you are interestred in finding remote work opportunities please feel free to create an account on workbeyond.io and explore the listings.

Data compiled by workbeyond.io, based on research performed by the above professional sources.
Apr 2025

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