Remote-work salaries are higher than office-based salaries in some cities, a new study has found
- Major organizations are scaling back their office spaces as they opt to go fully remote.
- Data from Jobbland.se data showed which cities are paying higher salaries for non-office work.
- The US tops the ranking for countries offering the most remote jobs relative to their labour force.
Many companies are preparing for employees to return to the office at some point this year, but that approach is by no means universal.
The deadly impact of the COVID-19 pandemic meant office-based workers were forced to rapidly shift to remote models. Now, both employers and employees are seeing the benefits and opportunities that such models can provide and are choosing to run with it over the long term. In some cities, this means more money for employees, a new study has found.
Major organizations including, Spotify, Twitter, and Salesforce are scaling back their office spaces as they transition into permanent flexible-work models. Facebook's CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, recently said as many as 50% of its employees could be working remotely within the next five to 10 years.
No doubt, when some people look for their next career move, they will consider remote work as a more attractive option due to its flexibility.
According to recent data from Harvey Nash, a tech recruiter, more than three-quarters (79%) of UK tech workers - the equivalent of more than one million people working in the sector - want to continue working from home for the majority of the week after the pandemic.
So, for those looking for a job change in a remote-working environment, where are the best places to look?
A new study by Swedish job search engine, Jobbland.se, found the countries that have the most remote jobs available relative to their working-age group. It also analyzed which industries have the most remote jobs advertised, and which cities are paying more or less for non-office jobs that are being advertised.
Which countries are offering the most remote jobs?
Based on jobs being advertised on LinkedIn in March 2021, those living in the US have a greater opportunity to find non-office jobs, where 113% of the jobs being offered are remote, relative to its working population.
Opportunities for remote work fall by nearly half in the UK, but the country still remains the highest non-office job advertiser among other European countries.
Which industries are most likely to offer fully remote positions?
With the option to work in a fully remote environment, the translation industry ranked number one as most likely to offer fully remote positions (91%). Editing and writing (56%), legal jobs (53%), and software development (47%) are also among the highest industries most likely to offer non-office jobs.
Sports and fitness (21%) and manufacturing (15%), however, are among the lowest.
Which cities are paying more for remote work?
According to the study, employees based in San Francisco can enjoy the benefits of high salaries for both remote and non-remote work. But, the tech city is offering higher average salaries for remote work jobs being advertised. Non-office work is presently paying $31,508 more in the California city.
In Ottawa, Canada, work-from-home jobs are paying $12,499 more than office jobs, on average. Meanwhile, Lyon pays the highest amount more for remote work than non-remote work in Europe.
In Sydney, there is also a difference in pay between remote and non-remote salaries but the Australian city is the lowest among some of the most populous cities, with only a 2% increase in remote jobs' salaries.