The trend of remote work has been on a sharp rise, particularly during the Covid-19 pandemic. A significant number of employees have shown a preference for work-from-home arrangements to such an extent that they’re willing to take a pay cut to continue this practice, even part-time, according to various studies.

The pandemic led to a surge in remote work, with many employees enjoying this way of working for the first time. Work-life balance emerges as the primary advantage of remote work, as indicated by the Pew Research Center. Experts have even assessed the monetary value that employees attach to telecommuting.

Remarkably, around 40% of employees express their readiness to accept a 5% reduction in their salary to retain their remote job, as per recent research by Harvard University, Johns Hopkins University, and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Additionally, about 9% are willing to forgo at least 20% of their wages to maintain their work-from-home status, as per the poll of over 2,000 workers.

According to Nick Bloom, an economics professor at Stanford University, employees equate the option to work remotely, even a few days a week, to receiving a pay hike. His data gathered over the years suggests that the average worker equates remote work to an approximately 8% pay raise.

In a study published by the National Bureau of Economic Research, employees, mainly in the tech sector, were found willing to accept an average 25% salary reduction for a job that allows full or partial remote work. The study analyzed data from nearly 1,400 tech sector workers in the US, with an average age of 32 years and seven years of work experience.

However, not all Americans favor working remotely. According to the Pew Research Center, about 41% of workers who have the option of teleworking but seldom do, feel that in-office work fosters better connection with coworkers, and 30% believe it offers better mentoring opportunities.

Nevertheless, nationwide, employers are not massively rolling back remote work. The number of paid work-from-home days has remained stable for the past two years, at between 25% and 30% – a threefold increase from the pre-Covid rate as per WFH Research.

Finally, it’s not just employees who benefit from remote work; businesses also profit from this arrangement. Companies can save on real estate costs by reducing office space and have the flexibility to hire from across the country, potentially at lower relative salaries. Moreover, employees with the option to work from home tend to quit less often, subsequently reducing company expenditure on recruitment and training.