The 2021 State of Remote Work Report

Summary: Remote work is beneficial to businesses

Remote work is set to expand substantially following the end of the pandemic compared to pre-pandemic levels. And there’s a good reason why. During the pandemic, organizations have largely experienced increased productivity from a workforce that has been primarily working from home, and employees have primarily found that they like it.

Using data from 538,438 online salary profiles collected from July 2019 to July 2021, Payscale analyzed how expectations around remote work has changed, and particularly for which occupations, as not all jobs can be performed remotely. In addition, we analyzed how employees who work remotely are paid compared to non-remote workers as well as whether employees working remotely are more satisfied with their jobs and exhibit lower rates of seeking a new job.

Overall, the report shows that 43 percent of employees expect more employers to offer remote work after the pandemic has ended, with certain occupational groups reaching as high as 75 percent. Our analysis also finds that remote workers have higher rates of reporting job satisfaction and lower rates of reporting job seeking behavior. Remote workers earn higher pay on average compared to non-remote workers.

To get the employer perspective, we also fielded a survey with organizations, asking HR leaders what percentage of their employees will work remotely after the pandemic compared to before the pandemic. We also inquire how their office environment will be evolving to accommodate remote work as well as their pay strategy for remote workers. To access full responses from the survey, download the complete report from our 2021 State of Remote Work Employer Survey.

Not everyone who can’t telecommute is dissatisfied with their job, of course. A majority of employees (64 percent) who can’t telecommute are either extremely or fairly satisfied with their job. In addition, employees who telecommute 100 percent of the time are somewhat less satisfied with their jobs than people who telecommute most of the time. This implies that employees are happiest when they can choose when to go into an office as needed but can work from home when it’s more productive.

Job Satisfaction by Remote Work Status

Earnings Difference by Remote Status

Employees who work remotely don’t earn less compensation

Overall, Payscale found that employees who telecommute 100 percent of the time (fully remote) earn more compensation than employees who do not work remotely at all. This correlates to the difference in salaries between white-collar and blue-collar workers. Holistically, when data are not controlled for job titles and other compensable factors, employees who work remotely make 23.7 percent more than non-remote employees. When we control for compensable factors like job title and location, employees who work remotely make 1.9 percent more than non- remote employees.

However, employees who answered that they can telecommute most of the time, some of the time, or on an as-needed basis earned more than both fully remote workers and non-remote workers. This implies that the highest paying opportunities are in hybrid work environments or where employees are more trusted and have autonomy to choose where they work. The large pay differences between partial and fully remote workers when data are uncontrolled may also be explained by job level. Managers and above who earn higher salaries might face expectations to go into the office at least some of the time compared to individual contributors better positioned to work remotely full time.

Part-time Remote Workers Earn More Compared to Fully Remote Workers

Differences in the percentage of remote workers and how much they earn vary by industry

Payscale analyzed the impact of remote work by industry. The analysis measures the differences in earnings between employees who work fully remote and employees who do not work remotely, both holistically and controlling for specific job title. Payscale also looked at job satisfaction and intent to leave between remote workers and non-remote workers by industry.

Overall, Payscale found that employees who work remote earn more than employees who do not work remote in all industries except for blue collar occupations such as construction and transportation and warehousing, as well as healthcare were most jobs have to be performed on site.

Industries where employees make the most working remotely include the nonprofit sector and information technology when data are controlled for job titles and other compensable factors.

Difference in Earnings of Fully Remote Workers, by Industry

Differences in the percentage of remote workers and how much they earn vary by occupation

PayScale analyzed the impact of remote work by occupational group. The analysis measures the differences in earnings between employees who work fully remote and employees who do not work remotely, both holistically and controlling for specific job title. Payscale also looked at job satisfaction and intent to leave between remote workers and non-remote workers by occupational group.

Overall, Payscale found that employees who work remote earn more than employees who do not work remote in all occupations that do not have a propensity for needing to be onsite, including blue collar occupations such as transportation, construction, manufacturing and production, and installation, maintenance, and repair when data are controlled for job title and other compensable factors, as well as food services, healthcare, and retail when data are uncontrolled.

Some occupations, such as marketing and advertising, make significantly more when working remote, even when data are controlled for job titles and other compensable factors, which also aligns to expectations these occupations have for remote work opportunities to increase.

Difference in Earnings of Fully Remote Workers, by Occupation