A roundup of the key themes from four established Remote Work Industry Reports below, highlighting some of insights arising from 2020 with a focus on challenges, fears, concerns and learnings.

Starting with A for Atlassian, Industry Report:

Working Overtime: Remote Workers (RWs) are placing increased pressure and expectations on themselves as they grapple with remote work life. Time-consuming tasks such as learning new digital tools, systems, reporting, and project coordination are leading individuals to work longer hours in a bid to remain successful in their positions. 

“42% believe working remote leads to longer hours”

Fears over Job Security: Many RW feel that in particular an increased level of reporting is required to ensure that their individual contributions are recognised by management. This documentation is to compensate for their lack of physical presence.

“33% are spending more of their time reporting to clients or managers”

“43% of people had become more concerned about their job security”

Inequalities Revealed: Working from home has lifted the veil on many workers’ personal circumstances. Employees who have the privilege to create separate and efficient workstations have a greater degree of comfort than their less affluent/younger counterparts. Companies should consider how an employee’s working environment can affect their productivity, and whether they have additional parental responsibilities.

Consideration should be given to co-working space allowances and/or introducing norms that require employees to use a universal virtual background during video calls.

Source: How to debug distributed teamwork, Atlassian Industry Report, Oct 2020

Loneliness: 20% of respondents indicated that their biggest struggle was loneliness whilst remote working.

Third spaces vs Co-working Spaces: Although there are ambitious plans to open approximately 26,000 co-working spaces over the next two years, these numbers do not balance with the current usage of these locations by RWs (7%). In fact, homes still act as the primary work location for the majority of RWs (80%), with the popularity of coffee shops increasing year on year. These ‘third spaces’ are places where RWs can unwind, away from their work/living environment.

Source: The 2020 State of Remote Work Report by Buffer

Moving on, G is for Git Lab:

Parents: Remote work has given individuals the opportunity to spend more quality time with their families, with 34% of survey respondents citing the flexibility to care for their family as a key benefit of RW. 

Equality: Of all the RWs surveyed for this report, 14% indicated that they were disabled or suffered from a chronic illness. Of this number 83% were in a position to work due to opportunities made available to them by RW.

Onto O for Owl Labs:

Job Satisfaction: RW is now an essential requirement for organisations wishing to attract to talented individuals. 50% of survey respondents would look for a new job, and a far greater number of respondents (70%) would be less happy if RW was not an option made available by their employer. 

Core working Hours: There is a strong demand from RWs for employers to set defined working hours and implement meeting-free days. This comes as employees spend a greater quantity of time writing emails and on video calls (50% increase) than ever before. 

Career Progression Concerns: Managers need to be aware of the growing concerns that their employees hold regarding career progression. 43% of survey respondents reported that RW would have an impact on their career prospects. Managers should react by having specific 1-on-1 conversations with their team members to discuss potential professional development and each individual’s goals.