34 Percent of Employees Would Take a Pay Cut to Work Remotely

Thirty-four percent of employees would take a pay cut of up to 5 percent in order to work remotely, according to a recent Owl Labs survey of 1,202 U.S. full-time employees.

And many would accept an even higher cut – 24 percent of respondents would take a cut of up to 10 percent, and 20 percent would take a pay cut of more than 10 percent in exchange for the opportunity to work remotely.

Among respondents, 54 percent currently work remotely at least once a month, 48 percent work remotely at least once a week, and 30 percent work remotely full-time.

At higher level positions, remote work is more likely – the survey found that 18 percent more executives work remotely than work onsite, and senior executives are 34 percent more likely to work remotely at least once per week than those in lower level jobs.

By industry, the highest percentage of remote workers work in healthcare (15 percent), followed by tech/Internet (10 percent), financial services (9 percent), education (8 percent), manufacturing (7 percent), professional services (6 percent), and retail (6 percent).

High Earners

Despite their willingness to work for less, more than twice as many remote workers earn salaries over $100,000 per year than onsite workers do.

In general, employees respond very positively to the idea of working remotely – 83 percent say the ability to work remotely would make them happier, 82 percent say it would make them feel more trusted at work, 81 percent say it would help them manage work-life conflicts, and 80 percent said it would make them less stressed. 

Notably, 71 percent of respondents said the ability to work remotely work make them more likely to choose one employer over another in their next job, and 74 percent said it would make them less likely to leave their employer.

And among those currently working remotely, the results are clear – 71 percent of current remote workers say they’re happy in their job, compared to 55 percent of onsite workers.

Work-Life Balance

Key benefits cited by current remote workers include better work-life balance (91 percent), increased productivity/better focus (79 percent), avoiding commuting (78 percent), less stress (78 percent), saving money/financial reasons (76 percent), and less office drama (73 percent).

Thirteen percent more remote workers than onsite workers say they’re likely to stay in their current job for the next five years.

Among managers, key concerns include reduced employee productivity (82 percent), reduced employee focus (82 percent), lower employee engagement and satisfaction (81 percent), and ensuring that remote employees are getting their work done (80 percent).

The findings follow a recent LogMeIn survey that found that 58 percent of SMBs now support remote working — as well as a recent Upwork survey of 1,000 U.S. hiring managers, which predicted that fully 73 percent of all teams will have remote workers by 2028. 

“As younger generations ascend in the workforce and become the majority of managers in corporate America they’ll reshape work as we know it,” Upwork CEO Stephane Kasriel said in a statement.

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