‘The new normal’: work from home is here to stay, US data shows
The same percentage of employed people who worked remotely in 2023 is the same as the previous year, a survey found
Don’t call it work from home any more, just call it work. According to new data, what once seemed like a pandemic necessity has become the new norm for many Americans.
Every year, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) releases the results of its American time use survey, which asks Americans how much time they spend doing various activities, from work to leisure.
The most recent survey results, released at the end of June, show that the same percentage of employed people who did at least some remote work in 2023 is the same percentage as those who did remote work in 2022.
In other words, it’s the first stabilization in the data since before the pandemic, when only a small percentage of workers did remote work, and a sign that remote work is here to stay.
I started a new position in my company in February 2020, just weeks before the lock down. Since then I've been almost entirely working from home, coming into the office maybe 10 days over the past 4 years.
During that time I've been promoted, gotten a separate pay raise to a new band, helped onboard the entire rest of my team (two of whom are completely remote).
I've done nothing but prove over and over again that I am excelling at my job remotely.
They are still pushing for me to come back to a "hybrid" 3 day a week schedule. Madness.
I think hybrid has its place. But it's definitely not a one size fits all
There is work like construction, transportation, and customer service that can't really be remote.
I'm not sure if there's a good argument for work that can be done remotely to insist on both in person and remote work. It doubles the amount of workstation resources required, or compromises on at least one of them.
Maybe teams benefit from in-person communication? That's probably simpler for some that haven't found comparable online versions of whiteboarding tools or whatever. Good tools do exist, but feel people that haven't adapted to them by now, it'll take some real demand to make it happen. This might not be a characteristic of a highly effective team, though.
Most frequently, hybrid insistence seems do be more about justifying middle management, based on my highly unscientific observations.
Depends on what you define as work
I think people are very selfish, they only thick shit what they get from being in the office a few days, not what they could bring to everyone else.
You might not be a person who needs much social contact, but other people in your company is. And I think for a company to work you'll need both people and you need to meet both half way.
Communication on teams meetings is extremely sub par. 90% just sit there on mute. They don't speak because they'll interrupt everything. There's no dynamic.
A job is not a social club. You may need a mix of personality types, but if you lock yourself into a candidate pool from a tight geographic area, that'll be far more constraining.
You can't just make up a percentage based on anecdotal observation and expect anyone to take it seriously.
Generally, my online meetings work great. When there's lag, or for low-priority or asynchronous points, we use the text channel. No interruption. That's not really available in person. It also allows more input from thoughtful introverts, which typically get steamrolled and ignored in person.
It needs to be a choice.
Don't worry: we won't forget you extroverts like you didn't forg-- wait a sec.
3 days at office or 3-days work week?
Three days per work week "on average" - but with no details over what timeframe that average is calculated.
7-day work week for 3/7 of the year
Offer to come back on a part-time basis, with them deciding which days you are working from home.
Those - the days you're working safely from home - will be the days you work for them. But it's entirely up to them how many days each week they have you as a resource.