How The Remote Revolution Has Changed The Workforce

This grand experiment in working from home has brought us more than just Zoom, Instacart and ring lights—it’s taught us valuable lessons about the future of work.

It’s been one year since the World Health Organization declared Covid-19 a pandemic, forcing companies across the country to close their office doors. Today, nearly half (47%) of American employees are currently working from home at least part of the time, according to a study by Glassdoor.

As vaccine production and distribution ramps up, some employers have announced definitive return-to-work dates. Others have committed to permanent remote-work arrangements, and freelance platform Upwork expects that 36.2 million Americans will be working from home by 2025, an 87% increase from pre-pandemic levels—and a sign that this grand experiment in telecommuting has done more than just make Zoom a part of our everyday lives and vocabulary.

Here, we take a look at how one year of working remotely has changed the workforce.

49 minutes

The amount of time by which the average workday increased by in 2020, according to a working paper by the National Bureau of Economic Research.

$11,000

The sum an employer can save per employee each year by having them work remotely half of the time, according to Global Workplace Analytics.

400%

The percentage increase in ring lights sold by photo and lighting equipment company Westcott from the start of the pandemic to December 2020.

4 billion 

The square footage of vacant office space in the 54 largest U.S. markets during the pandemic, CBRE estimates.

33%

The percentage of paid time off Americans left on the table last year, according to the U.S. Travel Association.

$4.25 billion

The revenue loss seen by the U.S. dry cleaning and laundry industry in the past year, according to the Drycleaning & Laundry Institute.

500,000

The number of desks and office chairs sold on online furniture store Overstock in 2020.

$108

The additional food and utilities expenses that employees are paying each month due to working remotely, according to a CreditCards.com survey.

9 million

The number of people who relocated between the start of the pandemic and October 2020, according to the National Association of Realtors.

$332.9 billion

The amount global IT spend is forecast to hit this year as a result of remote work, according to Gartner.

13%

The percentage increase in meetings attended since the pandemic began, according to a Harvard Business School study.

8.3%

The percentage increase in emails sent after business hours since the pandemic began, according to a Harvard Business School study.

$39.3 billion

The projected budget shortfall U.S. public transit agencies face through the end of 2023, according to American Public Transportation Association.

110 minutes

The average amount of time spent actively using Slack per day, up from roughly 85 minutes before the pandemic.

$4,367

The amount of money the average person saved, in one year, by eliminating their commutes, according to an Upwork study.