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New research from Ladders confirms what many have already known: remote work is here to stay.
In fact, the firm projects that 25% of all professional positions in North America could be remote by the end of the year and opportunities will continue to grow in the near future.
The research studied remote work availability from North America’s 50,000 largest employers since the onset of the pandemic. In 2020 alone, remote working opportunities grew from under 4% to 9% and today, that number sits at 15%.
“This change in working arrangements is impossible to overhype. As big as it is, it’s even bigger than people think,” said Marc Cenedella, CEO of Ladders. “Hiring practices typically move at a glacial pace, but the pandemic turned up the heat so we’re seeing a rapid flood of change in this space. It’s really rather amazing.”
Not only has the pandemic highlighted the need for more remote working opportunities, but 2022 marked the third year of the pandemic. With that, job burnout has reached an all-time high.
As a result, three in five workers have stated that work-related stress has led to a lack of interest, motivation, and overall energy at work. The report also found that stress around the politicization of masks and vaccines, as well as a lack of support from the government and workplaces, have caused workers to feel more cynical about their work.
This doesn’t just mean nihilism – organizational psychologist Michael Leiter says this cynicism “undermines the people’s feelings about the value of their work, which can help motivate them during hard times.”
Since the pandemic remains volatile and a factor that the world must learn to live with, employers need to focus on implementing stress reduction measures if they want to maintain a healthy workforce.
One way to do this is by embracing hybrid and remote working policies. In fact, a January 2022 survey from Ergotron shows that workers that are acclimated to these types of work arrangements are seeing a positive impact on their physical and mental wellbeing.
Companies that are trying to will a “return to normalcy” have missed the entire point of the last few years. There is no returning to normal, there is a new normal – and it has already deeply embedded itself into our workforce.
