A new study from FlexJobs found that it isn’t just because of the COVID-19 pandemic that employees want to stay virtual and continue to work from home. As reported in Forbes, the vast majority of respondents (65%)said that they want to continue their remote work arrangements even post-pandemic.
Working Remotely
Here are some other highlights of the research, which surveyed more than 2,100 people who worked remotely during the pandemic:
- 58% of workers said that they would look for a new job if they cannot continue remote work.
- 33% prefer a hybrid environment.
- Only 2% want to work in the office full-time.
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One of the most telling points of the study illuminated a key reason why people want to stay virtual and work remotely: to have more flexibility in their home-base location. The FlexJobs study found that 37% of workers said they would definitely consider relocating, and 31% said they would consider moving if they could work remotely permanently. As Rachel Pelta reported recently, “Remote work also impacts where people live.”
Reasons to Move
Study respondents identified a plethora of reasons that tempt them to possibly move:
- Better quality of life: 58%
- Lower cost of living or less expensive housing: 47%
- Different or better climate: 38%
- A change of scenery: 35%
- Closer to friends and family: 26%
- Access to better schools: 14%
Other studies have unearthed similar results when it comes to the desire that workers have to move. CraftJack recently surveyed nearly 3,000 American workers to learn more about their feelings towards permanent remote work, and where they would prefer to relocate if given an option. They found that 61% of Americans would move if given the option for permanent remote work, and close to 90% believe they should be paid the same if they move to a more affordable area. Nearly 90% also expressed that they would work at a company where they never meet their coworkers in person.
CraftJack also dug into which cities had the highest percentage of employees who would jump at the chance to move somewhere else if they could continue working remotely. They learned that the top three locations with people looking to relocate were major U.S. cities: New York City (76%), Los Angeles (75%), and San Francisco (71%), followed by Chicago and Denver at 65% and 64%, respectively.
The NPD Group also validated American workers’ desire to pick up stakes, finding that nearly 30% of Americans have considered moving due to the ongoing pandemic. NPD flagged a variety of reasons behind the desire to move, including not only employment but also proximity to family, retirement, and lower cost of living.
Retaining Talent
There’s a message here for employers who want to retain the best and the brightest: onsider extending your remote work arrangements so staffers can stay virtual. Working parents, in particular, have discovered throughout the pandemic that working from home is essential to them; FlexJobs found that 61% of parents surveyed said they want to work remotely full-time. These parents cite a number of concerns about returning to the office post-COVID, headed up by a worry about having less flexibility and worse work-life balance, as well as childcare responsibilities.
By giving people the choice of where they work and what location they call home, employers widen the playing field of top talent that will want to stick with their company over the long term. The productivity benefits that employers gain from virtual workers, fused with the positive employee experience that employees enjoy when they can work and live where they choose, is a powerful combination.
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