Office envy: 56 percent of companies around the globe now embrace remote work

New report puts data behind the growing trend toward remote work around the world.

By Greg Nichols for Robotics | Oct 29, 2018

A newly released report offers a snapshot of the spread of remote work arrangements globally. Survey data collected by the authors of the 2018 Global State of Remote Work report show that 56 percent of companies internationally support remote work in some capacity.

The report also found that more than half of respondents (52 percent) spent at least one day per week outside the office.

Updated annually, the report is sponsored by Owl Labs, a video conferencing hardware company. The survey this year included 3,028 employees across six continents and comprising 23 countries.

The number one reason respondents reported choosing remote work arrangements was productivity and focus. Country by country, the reasons were more varied. In North America, workers are more likely to work remotely to avoid a commute. In Africa, money savings was the primary motivator.

There are some other compelling tidbits in the report, as well. South America is embracing its fully remote workers, it turns out, but Asia is not. Globally, 44 percent of companies do not allow remote work in any capacity, while 16 percent are fully remote.

Male respondents surveyed reported being 8 percent more likely to work remotely than women.

The rise of remote work globally has spawned a booming industry of hardware and app-based solutions designed to bridge distance and lower barriers to working remotely. While its tough to peg the size of that sector, anecdotal indicators suggest its massive.

Slack, the unicorn of remote work tech, now has a valuation of $7 billion, and enterprise video conferencing could be a $10.5 billion market by 2026.