The working world has tipped the balance in favor of flexibility. Latest research commissioned by Regus, the flexible workspace provider, shows that over half of workers in the United States now work from outside their company’s main offices for half the week or more. When asked where they work when away from the office, 41% said they mostly work from home.
The survey, canvassing over 6,000 U.S. business people, aims to provide a snapshot of the world of work today; results show that while remote-working is clearly the norm, it’s certainly not synonymous working from home — only a minority work exclusively from home (14%). Instead, respondents revealed that they work remotely in order to remain productive while traveling to and from meetings within the same city or in other cities (60%).
The study also highlights:
- Only 14% of remote workers are fully fledged home-based workers, spending an entire week working from their home office;
- Among the most popular locations for remote work, business centers make up a fifth (19%);
- 7% say that they usually work abroad when working remotely;
- Only 11% of business people would settle for noisy cafes while working on the go.
While U.S. employees work remotely to stay productive, workers in the United Kingdom are choosing remote work to cut down on travel time. According to a Regus UK survey, conducted among 1700 UK professionals, 58% of workers are looking to “work remotely in order to improve their travel schedule.”
Steven Farley, Regus CEO for North America, comments, “These results show that today’s workforce is truly mobile. Only a very small proportion of workers are true home-based workers spending all of their time away from their main office in a home office. Workers report that they are not looking to replace one fixed office space with another such as the home, but are declaring that they need places to stop off and regain productivity while traveling to and from business meetings in their own, or in other cities.”
“Business people clearly show that they need drop-in locations where they can productively work from a few hours to a full day. Business centers prove to be a popular choice as they can be found in city centers and suburban markets and provide a professional environment that favors concentration, very much the opposite of noisy cafes where it is hard to find focus and privacy,” Farley adds.
Recent reports estimate that today’s average UK commute takes anywhere from 55 to 90 minutes with more than 3 million workers regularly facing journeys of two hours plus to get to and from work. Research has found that the commute has a detrimental effect on well-being, with the Office of National Statistics reporting that commuters have lower life satisfaction, lower levels of happiness, and higher anxiety.
According to Richard Morris, CEO UK Regus, these factors are leading commuters to question the logic of traditional working practices.
Morris comments, “The survey tells us that workers are no longer willing to accept the stress and expense of the commute and are looking at flexible working solutions that enable them to gain this time back, work nearer to home and enhance productivity.”
“Whilst working flexibly won’t be a fit for every type of job there are millions of people across the UK for whom this more agile approach to the working day makes perfect sense. With over half of all workers thinking this way, 2017 looks set to herald the beginning of the end for the outdated, costly and time-consuming journey to one fixed place of work,” Morris adds.
Something that fails to get mentioned regarding the 14% of employees who work from home exclusively is the fact that they are able to save a significant amount of money in several areas. Commuting costs: for a person who commutes on a daily basis, for example 20 miles a day translates to roughly $800 a year in gasoline costs. 9,600 extra miles on the car means additional maintenance costs for the car: oil changes, tires, wear and tear etc.-conservatively this is an extra $500 a year. Parking: if the employee needs to pay for parking, this can run anywhere from $100-$150 a month, so this can run as much as $1800 a year. Wardrobe costs: if one spends money on clothes to look sharp at the office, this can conservatively add another $1,000 a year to one’s budget. Time saved: time spent commuting 20 minutes one way translates to 160 hours a year saved-while the office worker is stuck in traffic, the person working from home can get a heads up on whatever they might need to do, whether it’s work or personal stuff. One can add up these numbers and it could translate into an addition $4,100 or more of money out of the worker’s pocket coming to the office every day. Over time, this adds up to a significant amount of money.