More than 2½ years into the COVID-19 pandemic, a majority of Americans have some flexibility to work from home.
More than a third can work entirely from home, according to a survey published on Monday, and 58% can work from home at least one day per week.
McKinsey’s American Opportunity Survey found that 35% of respondents with remote options said they are allowed to work off-site full time and another 23% can work anywhere part time.
But 13% of workers surveyed said they choose to work in the office despite being offered hybrid models.
The survey also shows most workers with remote options take advantage of the flexibility. About 87% of workers given the option to work from home do so at least three days per week. Some respondents said they work from home five days a week even if their employer offers a slightly modified schedule.
This dynamic is widespread across demographics, occupations, and geographies, according to McKinsey: "The flexible working world was born of a frenzied reaction to a sudden crisis but has remained as a desirable job feature for millions. This represents a tectonic shift in where, when, and how Americans want to work and are working."
Certain professions lend themselves more easily to remote work. The vast majority of people in computer and mathematical occupations report having remote-work options, and 77% report being willing to work fully remotely.
A surprisingly broad array of professions offer remote-work arrangements, McKinsey reported. Half of respondents working in educational instruction and library occupations and 45% of healthcare practitioners and workers in technical occupations say they do some remote work, reflecting the rise of online education and telemedicine.
Even food-preparation and transportation professionals said they do some work from home, according to the survey.
The online poll, which measured the responses of more than 25,000 U.S. adults, was conducted by Ipsos from March 15 to April 18. Survey respondents were from all kinds of different jobs, in every part of the country and in every sector of the economy, including traditionally labeled “blue collar” jobs that might be expected to demand on-site labor as well as “white collar” professions.
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