Motus Report Reveals U.S. Remote Workforce Could Reach 30% Permanently When Offices Reopen

Remote Work Found to Increase Productivity Among Teams, Reduce Absenteeism, Lower Employee Turnover and Promote Cost Savings

BOSTON, Mass., April 23, 2020 – Motus, the definitive leader in reimbursement solutions for businesses with mobile-enabled workforces, today released a new report, “Remote Work: A New Advantage,” which examines the benefits, drawbacks and costs associated with remote teams. According to the findings, as much as 30% to 40% of the U.S. workforce could permanently spend more time working remote than at an office. This represents a substantial increase from time prior to the pandemic, indicating businesses’ ability to evolve in the post-COVID-19 era.

This is due, in large part, to the competitive advantages remote work provides over office-first companies, including increased employee productivity and engagement. The report found that remote employees are 15% to 45% more productive than their in-office counterparts. This increased productivity drives better performance, as highly engaged workplaces were found to be 21% more profitable. Additional benefits include reduced absenteeism and lower voluntary turnover, which costs employers $10,000 to $30,000 per employee.

“Beyond near-term savings on utility bills and in-office perks, there are large savings opportunities for companies that embrace a remote work culture, even after offices start to reopen,” said Ken Robinson, market research analyst for Motus. “Office space leases are typically one of the least flexible costs of running a business. Our research finds that reallocating real estate spend to support a larger remote workforce allows businesses to take advantage of the additional benefits remote work provides, things like increased productivity, business continuity and talent retention.”

To enable successful remote workspaces, employers must provide employees with essential equipment and services to do their jobs, which often includes computers and mobile phones. While employers commonly pay a stipend to people that work remote for at least half of the business week, the report notes that employers frequently overlook other common costs when deciding what a stipend should include, such as a high-speed internet connection.

As an alternative to the traditional stipend approach, many companies now instruct employees to expense their home office costs. However, utilizing expense reports becomes a costly administrative burden when multiplied across the workforce. For example, the report found that the annual cost increase for home office expense report processing was $9,600 for every 50 employees.

“While flat stipends or funneling home office costs through expense reports are easy to manage, phone, internet and home office costs vary based on location,” said Robinson. “Depending on an employee’s job responsibilities, the average national cost for home office expenses can range between $90 and $126 per employee per month. To ensure employees are fairly and accurately compensated for the costs they incur at the benefit of their employers, it’s important for businesses to factor in geographic costs when reimbursing their workforces.”

For organizations interested in exploring remote work, Motus offers a free calculator that assesses how much businesses can save by maximizing their remote workforces. Motus also provides geographically-sensitive insight into the costs of reimbursement for personal devices, internet and home office expenses through its Remote Work Reimbursement product.

To access the full report, please visit: https://resources.motus.com/remote-work-reimbursement/motus-remote-work-report