Remote work boosts job retention– study

Employees with flexible remote work options are 22% less likely to quit than fully remote ones. 

Flexible remote work options are significantly influencing employee turnover and workplace satisfaction, with remote work increasing job retention, a study from Payscale revealed.

Payscale’s 2023 Remote Work Report, which surveyed over 300,000 respondents, found that employees with the option to work from home are 22% less likely to seek new employment. 

"More employees are willing to stick with their jobs if they are allowed to work from home at least some of the time," Amy Stewart, Associate Director of Content and Editorial, explained. 

She said that this trend is particularly pronounced among those in computer or mathematical occupations, as well as creatives in art, entertainment, and recreational fields, with over 70% expressing a preference for remote work.

Despite concerns about the impact of remote work on productivity, Payscale's survey reveals a different picture. Stewart noted that while the U.S. saw a decline in GDP for five straight quarters, remote work was not a primary factor.

“Higher turnover and insufficient pay both ranked the highest [reasons for the decline in productivity],” she said. Furthermore, only 40% of employers reward productivity, which may not be a strong incentive for employees.

The study also highlighted the gender pay gap in relation to remote work. "The gender pay gap widens for women who work from home all or most of the time," Stewart pointed out.

She said that while the overall gender pay gap in the U.S. is 83 cents on the dollar, it drops to 79 cents for women who predominantly work from home. This suggests that remote work might limit women's access to higher-paying jobs or that women may face pay cuts for choosing or needing to work from home.

“What we're measuring here is not just whether women are paid equally to men for equal or similar work, but what kinds of jobs women are able to get and how those jobs pay compared to the jobs that men do. That is usually influenced by societal expectations placed on women to stay at home and take care of children when both men and women are equally parents,” she said.