‘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.
It's not even about profits. If companies don't have to pay for expensive office buildings they can save money. It's all the middle management realising their jobs are are unnecessary.
True for companies that aren't locked into their pre-covid space. Some have decades-long leases, others own the buildings outright. My last place was able to walk away from a lease that they had just signed months before covid hit, and downsized to a space that just had some meeting rooms, a couple offices for execs, social space and server rooms. No need for a bunch of desks, they went 100% remote during lockdown and decided to stay that way permanently.