In the past two months, the popularity of remote work has risen to 28%, and there is a clear indication that the return to office drive is reversing. The results were based on a quantitative online survey distributed to LinkedIn members via email every two weeks, with roughly 3,000 to 5,000 U.S.-based members responding to each wave.
The survey results showed that in November 2022, there was a 30-point gap between the share of professionals working onsite (55%) and those working remotely (25%). However, the difference has narrowed to just 22 points, with remote work’s popularity rising to 28% by January 2023. Hybrid work is now at 18%, while the share of professionals working onsite has waned to just 50%.
The gap between remote workers and those reporting onsite appears to be narrowing, after a long period of drifting apart.
All of these changes come from the decrease in the number of people working onsite, and an increase both in remote and hybrid work.
The most interesting part of the study? Remote work percentages vary depending on the size of an organization.
The highest percentage of remote work (33%) was at large organizations of 1,000 or more employees, while the number drops to 26% of professionals at small organizations (1 to 200 employees) and 27% for professionals at medium-sized organizations (201 to 1,000 employees).
The survey indicates companies are recognizing the benefits of remote work, including increased productivity, lower overhead costs, and improved work-life balance.
