Remote Work Is Here To Stay, New Data Shows

More than a third of full-time employees worked remotely at least some of the time in 2023, an indicator that remote work remains above pandemic levels and is increasing.

Some 35% of full-time employees worked remotely in 2023, up from 34% in 2022, according to data published this week from the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ time use survey. Despite a push by managers to get their workers back into the office, remote work is still happening in many corners of the labor market. Indeed, for workers over 25 with college educations, it was the norm, with 52% saying they telecommuted during the year.

The durability of the work-from-home trend may be frustrating for companies like UPS, Amazon, JPMorgan Chase, and Boeing, which have tried various measures to get their employees back to the office with mixed success. Dell ended promotions for remote employees, only to find that half of them would rather work from home than be eligible for them, according to reporting by Business Insider. 

Multiple surveys have shown that after getting a taste of the flexibility and time savings of remote work, many employees don’t want to go back.