Survey Shows Remote Workers Happier and More Productive

A survey of remote workers versus their in-office counter parts suggests that remote workers are happier, more productive, and feel more valued.

An article at Forbes summarizes the findings of the survey as follows:

Remote workers are happier : In the aggregate, according to the survey, on a 1 to 10 scale (in answer to the question, "How happy are you at work?") remote workers scored 8.10, compared to all workers' score of 7.42. Not surprisingly, employees score consistently higher when they work remotely because they "enjoy the freedom and flexibility" than when "they are required to work remotely by their job."

Remote workers feel more valued : This to me was an interesting finding, since remote workers often have problems related to feelings of isolation and lack of daily contact with co-workers. In answer to the question, "How valued do you feel at work?" - remote workers scored 7.75, compared to all workers' 6.69. While remote employees do rate their "relationships with co-workers" lower than do all workers (7.88 compared to 8.47), this social drawback was still outweighed by the multiple benefits remote employees perceived.

Remote workers -- overwhelmingly -- feel they're more productive : According to the survey, 91% of remote workers believe they "get more work done when working remotely," compared to only 9% who feel they don't. While it's worth noting this is an employee self-assessment (as opposed to managers' assessments), the large margin here does seem significant.

Remote workers' amount of contact with managers is detailed: In answer to the question, "How often do you have contact with your direct supervisor?" - 52% of remote employees responded either "once per day" or "multiple times per day." At the lower-contact end of the spectrum, 34% reported contact "once per week," while 10% reported only "once per month," and 3% reported the alarming frequency (from a management standpoint anyway!) of "never." Which brings me to my final point: Given the increasing frequency of remote arrangements (37% of workers now at least occasionally use them, the report notes, compared to only 9% in 1995), what are the implications for management?

What can I do to become a remote worker?

If working remotely is your dream, there are a few different ways to approach it:

  • Convince your current employer to let you go remote. This can be done, initially, by suggesting a trial period of 2-4 weeks working remotely for 1-3 days per week. Remember this is just done on a "trial basis." Once you have proven to your employer that you are more productive, then you are in a better position to suggest going remote full time. The key is to ease your employer into the idea somewhat gradually.

  • If your employer simply won't let you work remotely, you could try to find a remote friendly job. There are many job boards that have remote-only listings, such as RemoteJobify, WeWorkRemotely, or Remote Jobs.

  • Another option for working where you want, when you want, is to be your own boss and have A Plan for Passive Income. This may take more work up front than the other options, but it will, in the end, allow for the most flexibility.

The future of the workforce seems to be going remote. So, there is time like the present to jump on board the remote worker train.