The number of available remote jobs surged last quarter despite escalated return-to-office (RTO) mandates, according to a new analysis.
The report from FlexJobs discovered that even with the larger shift back to the office, remote job postings grew by 8 percent in the second quarter (Q2), signaling these types of positions may have a permanent place in the job market in years ahead.
Why It Matters
Remote work became prominent during the coronavirus pandemic. While it was first just a necessity to curb the spread of the virus, it now has a strong hold on the larger workforce as employees demand increased flexibility.
Nearly all, or 95 percent, of working professionals want some type of remote work, according to another recent FlexJobs report. And 63 percent said remote work is the most important aspect of their job, even more important than salary.
A worker is pictured with her laptop at the Bank of America Winter Village in Bryant Park amid the coronavirus pandemic on March 14, 2021, in New York City.
Noam Galai/Getty Images
What To Know
Roughly 72 percent of organizations in Cisco’s recent survey said they’ve issued RTO mandates. Despite this, the number of remote positions available on job boards continues growing.
From April to June, remote job listings grew 8 percent, according to FlexJobs. Of the listings available, 5 percent allowed “work from anywhere.”
“Recent years have redefined the way we approach work. Despite the ongoing debates around return-to-office (RTO) mandates, the majority of people know they perform their best and function at their highest ability in a remote-friendly work environment, including both full-time remote and hybrid arrangements,” Toni Frana, manager and career expert at FlexJobs, said in the report.
Computer and IT, communications and project management all saw significant jumps in hiring, while education and training climbed by more than 20 percent.
Specifically for remote work, computer and IT, project management and sales roles had the highest number of listings.
The highest-paying remote job was senior product manager, with an average salary of $134,000. Close behind was senior software engineer at $130,000 and account executive at $115,000.
“Now that some of the fluff has come out of the job market, the people landing remote roles are more likely to be well-qualified candidates,” Kevin Thompson, CEO of 9i Capital Group and host of the 9innings podcast, told Newsweek. “The reality is, it costs more to recruit new talent than to retain your current team. So, in a competitive landscape, employers may be more inclined to maintain remote work policies—or even use them as a recruiting tool.”
Not all industries saw growth in remote work, however. FlexJobs noted a quarterly decline in nursing, bilingual, writing, legal and administrative jobs.
What People Are Saying
Thompson also told Newsweek: “You’ve got leaders like [JPMorgan Chase CEO] Jamie Dimon shouting from the rooftops about the importance of in-person work for team building and promotions. But it really depends on the industry. We’re a heavily service-oriented economy, and in many sectors, remote work is still very viable.”
Alex Beene, financial literacy instructor for the University of Tennessee at Martin, told Newsweek: “The return-to-office measures taken by many businesses following the pandemic were seen as necessary to increase productivity. However, those same measures caused some employees to look for other remote and/or hybrid positions because they valued the flexibility remote work provides. I think what we’re seeing now is some employers throwing in the towel and making remote work an option again to obtain the talent they want for their businesses.”
HR consultant Bryan Driscoll told Newsweek: “The rise in remote job postings proves what workers have known all along – RTO mandates are about power, not productivity. Companies want control but the market keeps proving that talent walks when flexibility ceases.”
What Happens Next
Employers will likely continue offering remote positions to remain competitive and attract the best talent.
More than half (51 percent) of workers said they would quit if faced with a nonnegotiable RTO mandate, according to a MyPerfectResume survey, while 40 percent would actively search for remote jobs.
“Remote work is here to stay. Just like the computer changed how we worked, and now AI is doing the same, remote work is simply part of the evolution,” Thompson said. “When you hire the right people, remote teams can be just as productive—sometimes even more so.”