Flexible work is becoming more popular among American workers—and they want more of it.
The American Opportunity Survey sheds light on how many individuals are given the choice to work from home, who works flexibly, and how they feel about it.
When the COVID-19 epidemic shut down businesses across the United States, society was subjected to an unplanned test of working from home. Almost two and a half years later, organizations throughout the world have established new working standards that acknowledge that flexible work is no longer a one-time response but rather a permanent feature of today’s workplace.
The third edition of the McKinsey American Opportunity Survey gives us insights into how flexible work fits into the daily lives of a representative sample of employees in the United States. McKinsey collaborated with market-research firm Ipsos to interview 25,000 people throughout spring 2022.
The statistic that received the most attention in this research is 58%, which is the percentage of Americans who claim to have had at least one day a week to work from home at least once in the last three months.
Eighty-five percent of respondents say they are able to work from home five days a week. These statistics are remarkable given that respondents work in a variety of occupations across the country and sector, including jobs that might be thought of as “blue collar” but may also require on-site labor.
Another finding from the poll: when individuals have the option to work flexibly, 87 percent of them take it. This trend is prevalent across every demographic, skill set, and geography. Flexible working was sparked by a frenzied reaction to a pressing problem, yet it has remained an attractive employment perk for millions of people. This represents a seismic shift in where, when, and how Americans want to work and are able to do so.
The following six graphs look at the following:
- The proportion of those eligible for flexible working arrangements who were offered part-time or full-time employment.
- How many days a week do employees have to work from home and how often are they offered and allowed to work?
- Individuals who want to work flexibly and those who are already working while being able to do so have different needs.
- Which jobs have the most remote employees and how often do they work remotely on a daily basis?
- Flexible work arrangements are popular among job-seeking individuals.
- Working effectively for those who work remotely on occasion, part-time, or not at all is an issue for nearly every business.
The advantages and drawbacks of flexible work are complex, yet they are potentially significant. The ramifications for employees and employers—as well as several industries, including real estate, transit, and technology—are huge and varied, necessitating thought.
1. One-third of job holders can work full-time from home, while a further 23% can do so part-time.
58 percent of working individuals—equivalent to 92 million people from a cross-section of jobs and employment types, according to the representative sample—enjoy the option to work from home for all or part of the week. After more than two years of examining remote work and anticipating that flexible working would endure during the COVID-19 epidemic’s acute phases, we consider these statistics as confirmation that there has been a significant change in the workforce and in society itself.
In previous years, we did not inquire about flexible working in the American Opportunity Survey, but a variety of other research indicates that flexibility has grown by anywhere from a third to tenfold since 2019.
35 percent of professionals claim they can work from home full-time. Another 23% may work from home one to four days a week. Only 13% of employed individuals say they could work remotely at least some of the time but do not opt to do so.
According to a recent study by the Harvard Business Review, fewer than 1 in 10 employees worldwide have access to remote work options. This may be due to the fact that not all job tasks can be completed remotely or because businesses just want on-site labor. In order to compete for skilled personnel successfully, employers may need to explore methods to offer staff the flexibility they desire.
2. When offered, almost everyone takes the opportunity to work flexibly
The poll revealed that not only is flexible work popular among Americans, with 80 million of them doing it (when the survey findings are extrapolated to the general population), but many would want to work remotely for most of their week if given the option.
Eighty-seven percent of respondents who were given the option of working remotely embraced it and spent an average of three days a week working from home. Workers with full-time flexible jobs spent somewhat more time working remotely, on average, at 3.3 days per week. Surprisingly, 12% of individuals whose employers just provide part-time or occasional remote work claim that they worked from home five days per week even though their employers only offer part-time or occasional remote work. This contradiction seems to indicate a disconnect between how much flexibility employers give and what employees want.
3. Most employees want flexibility, but the averages hide the critical differences
People of all genders, races, ages and educational and economic levels are virtually identical in terms of their desire for greater flexibility: the vast majority of individuals who can work from home do so. In reality, they just want more freedom: although 58% percent of employed respondents stated that they can work from home at least part of the time, 65% said they would be ready to do so all the time.
However, the opportunity is not equal: men were offered remote-working possibilities at a much higher rate than women (61 percent vs. 52 percent). Younger employees were more likely than older workers to report having work-from-home benefits at every income level.
When it comes to flexibility and working remotely, the most significant factor is age. People in their fifties (19 percent of 55-to-64-year-olds declined remote work, compared with 12 to 13 percent of those aged 18 to 34) or with lower salaries were less inclined to take advantage of the opportunity (17 percent of those earning $25,000 to $74,999 who were offered remote work didn’t take it, compared with 10% of people making more than $75,000 a year). Some employees may wish to work on-site because they enjoy the atmosphere, while others feel compelled to do so because their home situations are unsuitable, they lack the necessary skills and equipment to perform effectively remotely, or they believe there is a benefit to being on-site. Employers should be aware that various groups have different perceptions and experiences of remote working and how it fits into their diversity, equity, and inclusion plans.
4. Most industries support some flexibility, but digital innovators demand it
Flexibility in the workplace has advantages and drawbacks. It is a factor when recruiting talent. The ability to work remotely varies by industry and role, with implications for organizations vying for employees. For example, 97 percent of computer and mathematical professionals who are employed are able to work from home some of the time, whereas 77% would be willing to do so completely remotely. Even firms with less extreme overall work-from-home profiles may discover that their technical staffs demand it, as a result of quick digital adjustments across sectors.
A wide range of vocations embraces remote employment. Perhaps reflecting the growth of online education and telemedicine, half of those in educational instruction and library occupations, as well as 45% of healthcare professionals and workers in technical professions, say they engage in some remote work. Food preparation and transportation professionals also said they do some work from home.
5. Job seekers highly value having autonomy over where and when they work
The purpose of this study was to find out whether or not people had recently hunted for a job. Unsurprisingly, the most popular motivation for a job search was higher wages and more hours, followed by a quest for better career prospects. Looking for a flexible schedule was the third-most-popular reason.
For individuals who left the workforce during the early years of the COVID-19 outbreak, workplace flexibility was one of the most important reasons for taking new employment, according to prior McKinsey research. Employers should be aware that when a candidate is considering between job offers with comparable pay, working flexibly may become a deciding factor.
6. Employees working flexibly report obstacles to peak performance
The study sought to know what made it difficult for respondents to do their tasks effectively. The most common problems, according to those working in a flexible model, were numerous difficulties, followed by those working entirely remotely and then the office workers. Our research does not explain the relationship between cause and effect; it’s conceivable that people who face difficulties are more likely to work from home. It’s also possible that individuals who work both on-site and at home are exposed to the challenges of each and the costs of constantly changing locations.
In addition, certain groups were far more likely than others to report particular difficulties: for example, about 55 percent of 18- to 34-year-olds claimed that mental health problems had an impact on their ability to do their work; only 17% of those aged 55 and up said the same. Workers with children at home who were given full-time remote employment options were far more likely than those without children to say that physical health or a hostile working environment had a moderate or significant influence on their employment.
Conclusion
The findings of the American Opportunity Survey reflect significant changes in the US workforce, including more than 92 million workers offered flexible work, 80 million workers engaged in flexible working conditions, and a large proportion of respondents reporting that seeking for flexible employment was a major incentive to seek new employment.
When it comes to recruiting top performers and digital innovators, employers need to know how flexible their talent pool is used. Employers are well aware of the benefits of technology investment, policy adaptation, and employee training in order for workers to work remotely and on-site (without overcompensating by requiring that employees spend too much time in video meetings). The findings highlight roadblocks to optimal performance that underscore the need for employers to assist employees with obstacles that affect their productivity. Companies will want to think carefully about which jobs can be done remotely and be receptive to the concept of more of these than is immediately apparent. Employers can select the appropriate metrics and track them to ensure that the new flexible approach is effective.
On a larger scale, the dissolution of millions of people’s daily commutes has important implications for the commercial core in large cities as well as commercial real estate in general. Such a world also necessitates a new calculus for where Americans will dwell and what types of homes they will occupy. It’s getting more challenging to manufacture physical goods in the United States. American companies are increasingly moving production of tangible things, such as automobiles and textiles, outside of the country in order to take advantage of lower costs. Technology is emerging that can eliminate residual barriers to more distributed and asynchronous work, making it feasible to offshore a wider range of occupations.
Over time, the full impact of flexible employment will become evident. Meanwhile, these findings give us early insight into how the workplace is changing.
