State of Remote Work 2019

How employees across the United States think about working remotely, hybrid and remote team management, meetings, and more.

Remote work isn’t the future of work — it’s the present.

Millions of people report that they work remotely around the world and across the United States, and although many companies around the world have embraced the work from anywhere movement, many others don’t know enough about how remote work would impact their employees, their teams, and their organizations to enable it.

Last year’s Global State of Remote Work report shared findings on global remote work trends. This year, we focused our survey on the United States so we could learn more about who’s working remotely, why they choose to work remotely, and what challenges they face in their jobs. We also wanted to learn how remote work impacts employee happiness, loyalty, and retention, what training remote workers receive, and how on-site workers feel about remote work.

Owl Labs produces this report every year because we’re on a mission to make location irrelevant for remote workers and hybrid teams, and we want to share how remote work can improve outcomes for employees, organizations, and teams. Remote work can improve employee productivity, increase employee retention, and make employees feel more trusted and better able to balance work and life responsibilities — making for happier employees and more productive teams.

For this year’s report, we partnered with workplace researcher, Kate Lister, president of Global Workplace Analytics, to ensure our approach was sound and our interpretations were grounded. Keep reading to learn more in the 2019 State of Remote Work report.

I. Survey Demographics

Who Took the Survey

We surveyed 1,202 full-time workers in the United States between the ages of 22 and 65.

Who Works Remotely

Of the 1,202 people we surveyed, 745 (62%) work remotely at any frequency, and 457 (38%) work on-site. In this report, we’ll refer to “remote workers” as people who work remotely at any frequency, and “on-site workers” as people who never work remotely.

62% Remote workers38% On-site workers
How Often People Work Remotely

The 62% of survey respondents who work remotely do so at different frequencies. 54% of respondents work remotely at least once per month, 48% work remotely at least once per week, and 30% work remotely full-time.

Last year’s Global State of Remote Work report found that 68% of workers around the world worked remotely at least once a month, indicating that the U.S. is slightly behind the global average in its adoption of remote work. However, last year’s report also found that only 18% of workers around the world work remotely full-time, indicating that remote workers in the U.S. work remotely full-time 66% more frequently than the global average.

Among remote workers, respondents are most likely to work remotely full-time, with 49% of remote workers working remotely full-time, and remote workers are least likely to work remotely at least once per month, with only 10% of remote workers working at this frequency.

How Frequently All Respondents Work Remotely

Work remotely full-time 30% At least 3x per week 7% At least once per week 11% At least once per month 6% Less than once per month 8% Never work remotely 38%

The Schedules of Respondents Who Work Remotely at Any Frequency

Full-time 49% At least 3x per week 11% At least once per week 17% At least once per month 10% Less than once per month 13%

Remote Work Frequency by Level

We broke down our survey respondents by job level to learn which levels work remotely most frequently.

Job Levels with Greatest Percentages of On-Site Workers

Individual Contributors 52% Consultants 32%

Job Levels with Greatest Percentages of Remote Workers

VP-Level 46% Founder/C-Level 55%

There are 18% more executives working remotely than there are working on-site.

Additionally, senior executives and above say they work remotely at least once per week 34% more than those in lower positions.

Which Industries Are Represented

Below, we’ve broken down the top industries represented by all respondents, by remote workers, and by on-site workers to see where the majority of respondents come from.

All respondents

Healthcare 17%

• Education 9%
• Retail 8%
• Financial Services 7%
• Manufacturing 7%

OTHER CATEGORIES INCLUDED

Government (6%), Professional Services (6%), Technology/Internet (6%), Construction & Engineering (4%), Food & Beverage (3%), Hospitality (3%), Insurance (3%), Automotive (2%), Computing & Electronics (2%), Consumer Goods (2%), Entertainment (2%), Telecommunications (2%), Transportation (2%), Real Estate (1%), Agriculture (1%), Utilities (1%), Energy (<1%), Mass Media (<1%), Sports (<1%), Wellness & Fitness (<1%)

Remote workers

• Healthcare 15%
• Technology/Internet 10%
• Financial Services 9%
• Education 8%
• Manufacturing 7%

OTHER CATEGORIES INCLUDED

Healthcare (15%), Technology/Internet (10%), Financial services (9%), Education (8%), Manufacturing (7%), Professional Services (6%), Retail (6%), Construction & Engineering (5%), Government (5%), Computing & Electronics (4%), Insurance (3%), Automotive (2%), Consumer Goods (2%), Food & Beverage (2%), Hospitality (2%), Transportation (2%), Agriculture (1%), Entertainment (1%), Real Estate (1%), Telecommunications (1%), Energy (<1%), Mass Media (<1%), Sports (<1%), Utilities (<1%), Wellness & Fitness (<1%)

On-site workers

• Healthcare 20%
• Education 12%
• Retail 11%
• Government 7%
• Manufacturing 7%

OTHER CATEGORIES INCLUDED

Healthcare (20%), Education (12%), Retail (11%), Government (7%), Manufacturing (7%), Financial Services (5%), Professional Services (5%), Construction & Engineering (4%), Food & Beverage (4%), Hospitality (3%), Insurance (3%), Automotive (2%), Consumer Goods (2%), Entertainment (2%), Transportation (2%), Technology/Internet (1%), Telecommunications (1%), Utilities (1%), Agriculture (<1%), Computing & Electronics (<1%), Energy (<1%), Mass Media (<1%), Real Estate (<1%), Sports (<1%), Wellness & Fitness (0%)

Which Departments are Represented

Among the respondents we surveyed, the departments that were most represented overall were Customer Support/Service/Success (17%), Facilities/Operations/IT (16%), Administrative (14%), Sales (12%), Other (8%), Product/Engineering (7%), Legal/Finance (7%), Human Resources (7%), Executive/Company Leadership (5%), Marketing (4%), and Education (3%).

Departments by Greatest Remote Representation

Facilities/Operations/IT 18% Customer Support/Service/Success 14% Sales 13% Administrative 11% Human Resources/People Ops 7% Product/Engineering 7%

Departments by Greatest On-Site Representation

Customer Support/Service/Success 21% Administrative 17% Facilities/Operations/IT 12% Sales 10% Product/Engineering 7%

Salary Information

We broke down the data to learn if remote work correlated with higher or lower salaries, and we learned that remote workers earn salaries higher than $100,000 per year 2.2x more frequently than on-site workers. Seventy-four percent of the remote workers we surveyed earn less than $100,000 per year, as compared to the 92% of on-site workers surveyed who earn less than that amount. Twenty-six percent of the remote workers we surveyed earn more than $100,000 per year, versus the 8% of on-site workers who earn more than that amount.

Remote workers earn salaries higher than $100K/year 2.2x more frequently than on-site workers.

Salary Breakdown of Remote Workers

74% earn <$100,000 per year.
26% earn > $100,000 per year.

• <$25K 7%
• $25K-$34,999K 12%
• $35K-$49,999K 17%
• $50K-$74,999K 22%
• $75K-$99,999K 16%
• $100K-$149,999K 13%
• $150K-$199,999K 6% 
• $200K+ 7%

Salary Breakdown of On-Site Workers

92% earn <$100,000 per year.
8% earn over $100,000 per year.

• <$25K 10%
• $25K-$34,999K 20%
• $35K-$49,999K 28%
• $50K-$74,999K 25%
• $75K-$99,999K 9% 
• $100K-$149,999K 5% 
• $150K-$199,999K 2% 
• $200K+ 1%

These findings align with our Equal Pay for Equal Work (From Home) study from April 2019, which found that part-time or full-time remote workers are more likely to earn salaries over $100,000 than people who never work remotely.

Tenure Data

We asked about the tenure of survey participants at their respective organizations to learn if more or less tenured employees are trusted to work remotely.

36% more on-site workers have been at their current organization for more than 10 years, and that 7% more remote workers have been at their current organization for 5 years or fewer.

We also learned that 75% more on-site workers have worked in their positions for less than a year, indicating that newer employees work remotely less frequently. This may be a reflection of the fact that some employees may only be able to work remotely once they’ve been in their position and built team-wide trust over a period of time. It could also be an indication that people are looking for new job opportunities that allow them to work remotely sooner.

II. Happiness, Loyalty, and Retention

How Remote Work Impacts Employee Loyalty

We asked survey respondents to agree or disagree with a series of statements to learn how the ability to work remotely impacts their happiness at work and their loyalty to their company.

Among other findings, we learned that remote work or the ability to work remotely makes employees happier, feel more trusted, better able to achieve work-life balance, and more inclined to take a pay cut to benefit from added flexibility.

83% of survey respondents agree that the ability to work remotely would make them happier.

Remote workers On-site workers 84% 81% Remote workers On-site workers 84% 81%

82% of respondents agree with the statement that working remotely would make them feel more trusted at work.

Remote workers On-site workers 84% 79% Remote workers On-site workers 84% 79%

81% of respondents agree that working remotely would make them better able to manage work-life conflict.

Remote workers On-site workers 82% 79% Remote workers On-site workers 82% 79%

81% of survey respondents agreed that the ability to work remotely would make them more likely to recommend their company to a friend.

Remote workers On-site workers 83% 78% Remote workers On-site workers 83% 78%

80% of all survey respondents agreed that the ability to work remotely would make them less stressed.

Remote workers On-site workers 81% 79% Remote workers On-site workers 81% 79%

80% of respondents agree that working remotely would make them feel like their employer cares.

Remote workers On-site workers 82% 76% Remote workers On-site workers 82% 76%

74% of survey respondents agree that the ability to work remotely would make them less likely to leave their employer.

Remote workers On-site workers 76% 70% Remote workers On-site workers 76% 70%

71% of survey respondents agree that the ability to work remotely would make them more likely to choose one employer over another in their next job.

Remote workers On-site workers 72% 69% Remote workers On-site workers 72% 69%

34% of survey respondents would take a pay cut of up to 5% in order to work remotely.

Remote workers On-site workers 39% 25% Remote workers On-site workers 39% 25%

24% of survey respondents would take a pay cut of up to 10% in order to work remotely.

Remote workers On-site workers 30% 13% Remote workers On-site workers 30% 13%

20% of survey respondents would take a pay cut of more than 10% in order to work remotely.

Remote workers On-site workers 26% 10% Remote workers On-site workers 26% 10%

Working Remotely in the Future

We asked respondents if they plan to work remotely more, less, or the same amount of time as they currently do in the future to learn how remote workers feel about their schedule — and if on-site workers want to work remotely at all. We learned that 42% of remote workers plan to work remotely more frequently in the next 5 years, and that more than half of on-site workers want to start working remotely. Only 19% say they do not want to work remotely.

We learned that 42% of remote workers plan to work remotely more frequently than they currently do in the next 5 years, and that more than half of on-site workers want to start working remotely.

Remote workers plan to work remotely more often in the future

42% more frequently40% the same amount18% plan to work remotely less than they currently do

On-site workers want to work remotely in the future.

51% want to30% may want to19% don’t want to

How Remote Work Impacts Employee Happiness

We asked respondents if they feel happy in their job to compare employee happiness between remote and on-site workers. We found remote workers say they’re happy in their jobs 29% more than on-site workers.

Full-time remote workers say they’re happy in their job 22% more than people who never work remotely.

Remote workers are happier at work.

• 71% of remote workers say they are happy in their job
• 55% of on-site workers who say they are happy in their job

How Remote Work Impacts Employee Retention and Loyalty

We wanted to learn if employees who worked remotely were more loyal than on-site workers.

Remote workers say they are likely to stay in their current job for the next 5 years 13% more than onsite workers.

We also asked remote workers how it would impact their sense of loyalty if they were no longer allowed to work remotely in the future and learned that more than 6 out of 10 of remote workers would expect additional compensation to stop working remotely.

55% of remote workers would be likely to look for another job if they were no longer allowed to work remotely.

61% of remote workers would expect a pay increase if they were no longer allowed to work remotely.

Remote Work’s Perceived Impact on Career Progression

Some employees express concern that a lack of office facetime or in-person mentorship could impact career development, but less than a quarter of remote workers shared their concerns.

68% of remote workers say they are not concerned working remotely will impact their career progression, while 23% say they fear it would.

III. Why Remote Work?

The Top Reasons for Working Remotely

We asked the remote workers we surveyed about the biggest reasons they decided to work remotely. They responded with: better work-life balance (91%), increased productivity/better focus (79%), less stress (78%) and avoiding a commute (78%). (This makes sense, because 30% of respondents who don’t work remotely but want to in the future have a commute of 30 minutes or more each way.)

This year’s results represent a shift toward greater interest in work-life balance compared to our 2018 Global State of Remote Work, where increased productivity/better focus and less stress topped the list.

• 91% better work-life balance

• 79% increased productivity/better focus

• 78% less stress

• 78% avoiding a commute

Better work-life balance 91% Increased productivity/better focus 79% Avoiding commuting 78% Less stress 78% Saving money/financial reasons 76% Less office drama 73% Mobile work 59% Needing to work on-site with clients 49% Childcare responsibilities 48% Being hired to work remotely 47% Accommodating disability 44% Moving away from their work location 43% Company doesn’t have an office 41% Eldercare responsibilities 38%

Which Benefits and Perks Are Most Important

We asked respondents about the perks and benefits that are most important to them when considering an employment opportunity and found there was little difference between preferences for remote and on-site workers.

For example, base compensation and health insurance were two of the top three priorities for both groups: 87% of on-site workers and 89% of remote workers prioritize base compensation, and 89% of on-site workers and 88% of remote workers prioritize health insurance. On-site workers care about health insurance 62% more than they care about stock options, and remote workers care about base compensation 43% more than they care about stock options.

Remote workers and on-site workers’ priorities differ when it comes to schedule flexibility (92% more important to remote workers), workplace flexibility (42% more important to remote workers), and stock options (70% more important to remote workers).

Importance of Different Perks for All Respondents

Health insurance 88% Base compensation 88% Vacation policy 81% Retirement savings matching 81% Performance-based compensation 76% Flexibility in workplace location 68% Employee wellness programming 63% Education/training reimbursement 61% Flexibility in work schedule 60% Parental leave 54% Transportation benefits 44%

Remote vs. On-Site Similarities

Health insurance Remote workers On-site workers 81% 84% Remote workers On-site workers 81% 84%

On-site workers care about health insurance 62% more than they care about stock options.

Base compensation Remote workers On-site workers 87% 80% Remote workers On-site workers 87% 80%

Remote workers care about base compensation 43% more than they care about stock options.

Remote vs. On-Site Differences

• Schedule flexibility 92%
• Workplace flexibility 42%
• Stock options 70%

Importance of Different Perks for All Respondents

Schedule flexibility is nearly twice as important to remote workers (92%) as it is to on-site workers.

Remote workers On-site workers 73% 38% Remote workers On-site workers 73% 38%

Workplace flexibility is 42% more important to remote workers than it is to on-site workers.

Remote workers On-site workers 77% 54% Remote workers On-site workers 77% 54%

Stock options are 70% more important to remote workers than to on-site workers.

Remote workers On-site workers 46% 27% Remote workers On-site workers 46% 27%

Transportation benefits are 73% more important to remote workers than to on-site workers.

Remote workers On-site workers 52% 30% Remote workers On-site workers 52% 30%

Education/training reimbursement is 26% more important to remote workers than it is to on-site workers.

Remote workers On-site workers 66% 52% Remote workers On-site workers 66% 52%

Parental leave is 23% more important to remote workers than it is to on-site workers.

Remote workers On-site workers 58% 47% Remote workers On-site workers 58% 47%

Employee wellness programming is 17% more important to remote workers than it is to on-site workers.

Remote workers On-site workers 67% 57% Remote workers On-site workers 67% 57%

Performance-based compensation is 8% more important to remote workers than it is to on-site workers.

Remote workers On-site workers 78% 72% Remote workers On-site workers 78% 72%

Retirement matching is 3% more important to remote workers than it is to on-site workers.

Remote workers On-site workers 82% 79% Remote workers On-site workers 82% 79%

Base compensation is 2% more important to remote workers than it is to on-site workers.

Remote workers On-site workers 89% 87% Remote workers On-site workers 89% 87%

Vacation policy is 2% more important to on-site workers than it is to remote workers.

Remote workers On-site workers 80% 82% Remote workers On-site workers 80% 82%

Health insurance is nearly equally important to remote workers and on-site workers.

Remote workers On-site workers 88% 89% Remote workers On-site workers 88% 89%

IV. Productivity and Working Hours

How Many Hours Respondents Are Working

One stereotype about remote workers is that they work fewer hours than on-site workers, but many remote workers work as many or more hours than their on-site counterparts because it can be challenging to unplug from work. We asked respondents how many hours per week they work to compare remote workers and on-site workers.

Many remote and on-site workers feel overworked.

20% of remote workers 22% of on-site workers

Remote workers say they work more than 40 hours per week 43% more than on-site workers do.

Why Respondents Are Working Longer Hours

For respondents who reported working more than 40 hours per week, we wanted to learn more about their reasons for working longer hours.

Remote workers and on-site workers are working 40+ hour work weeks for different reasons.

On-site workers are also working longer weeks because it’s required, and more remote workers are doing so because they enjoy what they do.

Interestingly, 72% of both remote workers and on-site workers feel they’re working the right amount of hours each week.

51% of respondents work > 40 hours per week to support their team.

Remote workers On-site workers 53% 45% Remote workers On-site workers 53% 45%

39% of respondents work > 40 hours per week because it’s required of them.

Remote workers On-site workers 38% 40% Remote workers On-site workers 38% 40%

33% of respondents work > 40 hours per week because they enjoy what they do.

Remote workers On-site workers 40% 17% Remote workers On-site workers 40% 17%

31% of respondents work > 40 hours per week to catch up on work.

Remote workers On-site workers 33% 25% Remote workers On-site workers 33% 25%

23% of respondents work > 40 hours per week in order to meet unrealistic expectations.

Remote workers On-site workers 24% 22% Remote workers On-site workers 24% 22%

V. Meetings

How Many Meetings Respondents Attend Each Week

Because meetings can be a challenging but critical opportunity for collaboration on remote and hybrid teams, we asked respondents questions about the number of meetings they attend each week so we could compare how remote and on-site workers are spending their time.

We learned that remote workers attend more meetings each week than on-site workers. 14% of remote workers are dedicating time to more than 10 meetings per week (vs. only 3% of on-site workers). On-site workers are spending 11% more time in 0-10 meetings per week, and remote workers are spending 11% more time in 11+ meetings per week.

Clear and open communication is critical for productive remote work, especially on hybrid teams, and it seems that remote workers are spending more time at work communicating with their colleagues, perhaps because they’re working remotely.

How Many Meetings On-Site Workers Attend

97% 0-10 meetings3% 11+ meetings

How Many Meetings Remote Workers Attend

86% 0-10 meetings14% 11+ meetings

We also analyzed how meeting schedules differ across different salary bands and job levels to learn if senior leaders or higher-paid individuals need to spend more time in meetings than other groups.

How Many Meetings Employees at Different Levels and Salaries Attend

Making more than $75K/year and attending 11+ meetings per week: Remote workers On-site workers 24% 10% Remote workers On-site workers 24% 10% Senior leaders attending 11+ meetings per week: Remote workers On-site workers 25% 50% Remote workers On-site workers 25% 50%

Challenges During Hybrid Meetings

During hybrid meetings (those with both on-site and remote meeting attendees from different locations), effective communication is the biggest challenge for both remote workers and on-site workers: Both groups cited interruptions and being talked over as their #1 challenge during these meetings.

The biggest challenges for on-site workers during hybrid meetings are interruptions/being talked over (61%) and staying focused during meetings (52%).

The biggest challenges for remote workers during hybrid meetings are interruptions/being talked over (67%) and IT issues during meetings (59%).

Meeting setup is 36% more challenging for remote workers.

Remote workers On-site workers 52% 38% Remote workers On-site workers 52% 38%

Video quality is 26% more challenging for remote workers.

Remote workers On-site workers 52% 41% Remote workers On-site workers 52% 41%

Internet speed and connectivity are 14% more challenging for remote workers.

Remote workers On-site workers 55% 48% Remote workers On-site workers 55% 48%

Preparation in advance is 35% more challenging for remote workers.

Remote workers On-site workers 53% 39% Remote workers On-site workers 53% 39%

IT issues during meetings are 18% more challenging for remote workers.

Remote workers On-site workers 59% 50% Remote workers On-site workers 59% 50%

Staying focused during meetings is 11% more challenging for remote workers.

Remote workers On-site workers 58% 52% Remote workers On-site workers 58% 52%

Audio quality is 26% more challenging for remote workers.

Remote workers On-site workers 53% 42% Remote workers On-site workers 53% 42%

Interruptions or being talked over are 11% more challenging for remote workers.

Remote workers On-site workers 67% 61% Remote workers On-site workers 67% 61%

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How Meetings Impact Productivity

We asked respondents how they would evaluate the productivity of their meetings to see if they’re more or less helpful for remote workers compared to on-site workers.

Remote workers say meetings reduce productivity 1.8X more than on-site workers.

How Meetings Reduce Productivity

• 8% of on-site workers lose more than an hour per day of productivity due to meetings
• 22% of remote workers lose more than an hour per day of productivity due to meetings

VI. Remote Work Training and Management

How Many Remote Workers and Managers Received Training

We wanted to learn if any remote workers or remote employee managers received specific training on working remotely or managing employees who work remotely. We found that 38% of remote workers and 15% of remote managers received no training on how to work remotely.

30% of survey respondents currently or have previously managed remote workers. Of that group, 89% of respondents who’ve managed remote workers are or have been remote workers themselves, and the remaining 11% of remote employee managers work on-site.

Do remote workers receive training?

38% of remote workers received no training on how to work remotely.62% of remote workers received some or quite a bit of training on how to work remotely.

Do remote employee managers receive training?

30% of respondents currently or have previously managed remote workers 84% of remote employee managers have received at least some training on how to manage remote employees 15% of remote employee managers received no training on how to do so

The Biggest Challenges Facing Remote Employee Managers

We asked remote employee managers about their biggest challenges and concerns when it comes to managing their remote employees.

Remote employee managers are most concerned about reduced employee productivity (82%), reduced employee focus (82%), lower employee engagement and satisfaction (81%), and whether their remote employees are getting their work done (80%).

Remote employee managers are least concerned with employee loneliness (59%), the career implications of employees working remotely (65%), employees overworking (67%), and difficulty managing them (68%).

Despite the fact that research (including this report) shows that remote workers are choosing to work remotely to increase productivity and improve focus during working hours, many managers are still concerned about whether they’re getting work done. What’s more, these concerns are ignoring some of the other challenges remote workers are facing, such as feelings of loneliness and isolation.

To support these hybrid and remote working relationships, managers need training that’s specific to remote workers to give them tools to evaluate performance and manage expectations when they don’t physically work with direct reports.

We found that remote employee managers who’ve received training are concerned about these challenges to a lesser degree than the overall contingent of remote employee managers, suggesting that additional training helps assuage manager fears and concerns about employee productivity and work environment.

The biggest differences relate to employee productivity and focus: Remote employee managers who’ve received training are 15% less likely to be as concerned about these challenges as remote employee managers overall.

Concerns of remote managers without training

Reduced employee productivity 82% Reduced employee focus 82% Employee engagement and satisfaction 81% Whether they’re getting work done 80% Lack of communication/engagement with co-workers 78% Reduced team cohesiveness 75% Background noise interrupting calls 73% IT support issues 72% Additional workload for others 72% Employees’ work-life conflict 71% Lack of opportunities for mentorship 71% Difficulty participating in meetings 70% Maintaining company culture 70% Difficulty managing remote employees 68% Employees overworking 67% Employees’ career implications 65% Employee loneliness 59%

Concerns of remote managers with training

Reduced employee productivity 69% Reduced employee focus 69% Employee engagement and satisfaction 69% Whether they’re getting work done 70% Lack of communication/engagement with co-workers 67% Reduced team cohesiveness 66% Background noise interrupting calls 63% IT support issues 62% Additional workload for others 63% Employees’ work-life conflict 63% Lack of opportunities for mentorship 62% Difficulty participating in meetings 59% Maintaining company culture 63% Difficulty managing remote employees 58% Employees overworking 59% Employees’ career implications 60% Employee loneliness 53%

Do remote workers still shower when they get up for work every morning?

We asked respondents to share if they shower or bathe before work every morning to see if remote workers have the same morning routine as on-site workers heading into the office, and we found very little difference between the two groups, indicating that remote workers don’t fit into the pajama-clad stereotype.

Thanks for reading the 2019 State of Remote Work report!