Larger employers mean fewer remote workers – Workers working for larger employers have lower chances of working remotely. Conversely, smaller companies are more likely to have employees working remotely at least some of the time. This relationship holds across all of the countries surveyed. One major contributor to this effect is that larger employers have a higher share of industries requiring in-person work, from retail to manufacturing.
This MetaFAQs reports on the percentage of employees who never work from home or remotely, split by country and their employer’s size in number of employees. Report [TUP_doc_2023_1219_nwfh] in TUP Lenses: User Profile; Work/Life Balance
Workers who never work from home have an older skew in only some countries
Remote working is slightly skewed towards workers who are under the age of 40 primarily in the UK, Germany, and China. In the US and Japan, there is less of an age difference. This reflects the digital capabilities of younger adults as well as the labor practices of countries. There is a difference, however, for those who always work remotely, whereas in the US and Germany, there is a stronger skew towards older workers.
This MetaFAQs reports on how often remote workers work remotely by age group and country.
Gen Z’s lead in online teamwork may transform the workplace
Digital collaboration has expanded over a decade, with newer generations adopting online teamwork swiftly. Gen Z, especially in the US and UK, actively collaborates on personal files, more so than for work. Current workplace practices limit their broader collaboration. Yet, they might pave the way for enhanced collaborative tool usage in the future.
This MetaFAQs reports on the use of connected device to collaborate on files, splitting the activity by work-related and personal files, and splitting further into generational age groups and countries. Report [TUP_doc_2023_1209_coll] in TUP Lenses: User Profile; Activities; Work/Life Balance
IT, FIRE, and professional industries have highest remote working rates
Certain industries offer greater flexibility regarding whether employees are required to work onsite or remotely. In particular, IT (Information technology) and FIRE (finance, insurance, real estate) involve working with digital data, software, and online tools. Also, these jobs typically have less physical requirements than industries such as healthcare, manufacturing, education, or retail. Also, these technical industries are often focused on outcomes and less on being present for a certain number of hours. Furthermore, these industries have been early adopters of digital technology.
The highest rates of working remotely are among the IT/FIRE/Professional industries and lowest among Education/Government. Report [TUP_doc_2023_1205_fire] in TUP Lenses: User Profile; Work/Life Balance
More remote than onsite workers in some countries
Remote workers outnumber onsite workers in the US, UK, and among China’s highly-educated elite. Japan favors on-site employees due to its manufacturing focus, labor policies, and traditional work culture. Germany has similar factors to Japan’s, although has a near-equal blend of remote and onsite workers, in part a reflection of the country’s growing openness and eagerness to compete more strongly in the world economy. In the US, aspirations towards being technologically advanced, expense of commercial operations, service-oriented industries, and openness to change have combined such that more Americans work remotely than in person. Report [TUP_doc_2023_1201_remo] in TUP Lenses: User Profile; Work/Life Balance
Most remote workers expect remote work next year
Most remote workers expect remote work next year – In a year, most current remote workers in the US, UK, Germany, and Japan anticipate consistent home-based work. However, fewer elite Chinese workers share this expectation. Very few workers not now working remotely expect to start. Report [TUP_doc_2023_1123_fwfh] in TUP Lenses: User Profile; Work/Life Balance
Home PCs: the unsung heroes of remote work
Home PCs: the unsung heroes of remote work – Getting things done for work from home often demands using a computer. Activities from Webex or Zoom group meetings to creating presentations or reports benefit from using the larger screens of most computers. However, employers have been slow in providing PCs to remote employees. Just as they wavered in their commitment to supporting workers working from home, they’ve vacillated in their policies around providing technology to remote workers.
This MetaFAQs reports on the percentage of workers who use a home computer for work-related activities. Report [TUP_doc_2023_1111_hwrk] in TUP Lenses: PCs; User Profile; Households; Activities; Work/Life Balance
US, UK, and China workers eye continued remote work, less so in Japan
US, UK, and China workers eye continued remote work, less so in Japan – Remote work persists, especially if employees are correct. Many employees expect to be working from home in a year at least some of the time. Following the onset of the Covid pandemic, many employees started working from home for the first time.
Among online workers in the US and UK, more than half expect to be working from home occasionally or more often. In Japan, the rate is lower. Among highly educated elite online adults in China, the expectation rate is much higher.
This MetaFAQs reports on the percentages of online adults in the US, Germany, UK, Japan, and China who expect to be working from home in one year, and how often they expect to work from home: never, occasionally, once a week, a few times a week, the majority of the time, or always. Report [TUP_doc_2023_1105_nwfh] in TUP Lenses: User Profile; Work/Life Balance
Remote workers use their devices for the most hours
Remote workers use their devices for the most hours – Employees who work remotely tend to spend more time on their devices compared to those exclusively working from office locations. While the time spent on computers, smartphones, or tablets doesn’t directly equate to productivity, it may hint at heightened work activity, especially as remote work often translates to digital meetings. Notably, the difference in device usage hours is most prominent among workers in Japan and Germany. The disparity is most evident when comparing computer usage based on remote work status. This MetaFAQs reports on the mean and median number of hours employees in the US, Germany, UK, Japan, and China use their connected devices – computers, smartphones, and tablets, as well as with each device type. Report [TUP_doc_2023_1011_prod] in TUP Lenses: Devices; User Profile; Work/Life Balance
Which Countries Lead in Remote Work Adoption?
The pandemic introduced a major shift in how employees work in addition to where they work. Although the quick response was necessary to maintain public health, some employers have sought to return remote employees to their workplace settings. Other employers have recognized the improved efficiency, productivity, and health of their employees, and have adapted to remote or hybrid work arrangements as part of their ongoing best practices. Many employees have found life-affirming benefits from even occasional remote work which has added to their resistance in returning to previous workplace-oriented practices. They report enjoying many benefits: reduced commuting times and expense, less time on work-appropriate wear, less time in meetings, as well as personal benefits such as managing family care. Also, many remote workers have already set up their remote working environment, many outfitted with computers, webcams, printers, and display monitors. They may be reticent to return to their workplace where employer-provided computers may not be as new as the ones employees are using at home.
This MetaFAQs reports on a vital statistic: the percentage and number of online adults that work remotely by country and also how often they do or do not work remotely. Report [TUP_doc_2023_1005_amwf] in TUP Lenses: User Profile; Work/Life Balance