Most professionals really do want to work from home, according to a number of surveys published this year. That means hiring managers and recruiters who want to nab top talent can leverage a remote work option as an enticing perk. For example,
FlexJobs’ survey racked up over 3,000 respondents, with 65 percent reporting they’d be “more productive” working from home. The respondents’ reasoning is interesting:
- 75 percent felt home had fewer distractions.
- 74 percent feel working in solitude at home would mean fewer interruptions from colleagues.
- 71 percent just don’t want to commute.
- 65 percent want to minimize their exposure or involvement in office politics.
FlexJobs CEO Sara Sutton underscored a better work-life balance as the reason why remote work is becoming more important. “People across generations and various demographics, such as working parents, freelancers, introverts, those managing chronic illnesses, caretakers, and many more, may have different reasons for why they’re more productive telecommuting,” she wrote in a statement, “but the bottom line is workers across the board say they get more work done from their home office.” Respondents to FlexJobs’ survey say a work-life balance is more important than money. Some 73 percent say they’d rather have a balance between the office and home, while 70 percent say money is still their main driver. And 76 percent say they’d be more loyal to their employer if they had the option to work remotely; meanwhile, 28 percent say they’d take a pay cut if they were given the option to work from home. Only eight percent say going into the office is critical. These survey findings echoed this year’s Dice Salary Survey. In it, salary remains the “primary motivator” an employer can provide, but flexible work location/telecommuting is a
very close second. Flexible work hours and more vacation are also benefits that tech pros want from employers.
The Dice Salary Survey also shows 22 percent of tech pros would rather work remotely full-time; 20 percent would be happy working from home half the time, while 18 percent would like to be able to work remotely more than half the time (but not all the time). Only three percent say they’d rather be in the office full-time. There are a lot of points of potential debate with FlexJobs’ findings (Is Slack really less distracting than in-person interruptions? Does your home have fewer distractions than the office?), but the takeaway is straightforward: professionals like remote work. Tech pros actually want the ability to work from home more than the “average” employee; earlier this year,
a HackerRank survey noted 80.5 percent of its tech pro respondents expressed the desire to work remotely. As companies hit the upper limits of what they’re willing to pay tech pros—especially specialized ones—perks and benefits become increasingly important ways to attract top talent. Offering a remote-work option can prove a powerful attractor to the candidates you want.
