Which Occupations Most Utilize Work At Home, And Which Have Room To Grow?

Sheila Callaham Sheila Callaham
April 23, 2020 Future of Work
Woman working from home
Even occupations conducive to working from home have been forced to practice it full scale. Which … [+] GETTY
 

If there was ever a critical need to focus on the future of work, now is it. With companies forced to rethink service and product delivery, millions of employees have been furloughed and fired. In some cases, such as retail and food services, the move was inevitable. But for occupations where remote work is already a possibility, data shows that there is lots of room for improvement. When looking at the data by age group, only one age group is disproportionately restricted from remote opportunities.

The latest Bureau of Labor and Statistics (BLS) work at home data shows that workers in occupations in management, business and financial industries, as well as professional and related services, were most likely to have performed paid work at home, 40.9 percent, and 29.1 percent, respectively. 

work at home by occupation Which Occupations Most Utilize Work At Home, And Which Have Room To Grow?
Date derived from the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ most recent report for work at home by occupation. SHEILA CALLAHAM

Services occupations, which include healthcare, childcare and security services, have obvious limitations with work at home options, with only 3.8 percent having worked with pay from home. 

However, in response to the coronavirus pandemic, healthcare services have seen a shift to teleservices. Most clinicians now offer patients an opportunity to meet with doctors and other medical professions through a variety of technology tools, including phone and computer. This is supported, in part, to Congress loosening the rules for using telehealth services under the $8.3 billion emergency package passed to help support the economic infrastructure. 

One of the best opportunities to increase remote working is in the office and administrative support occupations, where only 15.9 percent have worked from home with pay.  

work at home data by age Which Occupations Most Utilize Work At Home, And Which Have Room To Grow?
Date derived from the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ most recent report for work at home by age shows … [+] SHEILA CALLAHAM

When examining work from home by age, the BLS data show that 26 percent of workers aged 35 to 44 have worked from home with pay, and another 10.2 percent identify their occupations as feasible for remote work. Compared to workers aged 65 and older, where only 14.4 percent have performed paid work at home and only an additional 8.4 percent feel their jobs could be remote, if allowed.

One possible explanation points to hiring trends. The occupations most open to hiring older workers include retail and healthcare, which, as the data reveals, have inherent limitations.

With the coronavirus pandemic driving businesses to rethink work with stay-at-home and social distancing mandates, many of the companies successfully shifting to remote work will make it permanent. Seventy-four percent of CFOs plan to shift at least 5 percent of previously on-site employees to permanently remote positions post-COVID 19, according to a Gartner, Inc. survey. Six percent of leaders plan to keep 50 percent or more positions remote after the stay-at-home and social distancing restrictions have lifted.

  • Experfy Insights

    Top articles, research, podcasts, webinars and more delivered to you monthly.

  • Sheila Callaham

    Tags
    Future of Work
    Leave a Comment
    Next Post
    How COVID-19 Is Forcing Companies To Invoke Business Continuity Plans – And What This Means For The Future Of Work

    How COVID-19 Is Forcing Companies To Invoke Business Continuity Plans – And What This Means For The Future Of Work

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    More in Future of Work
    Future of Work
    Where Will, the Future of Work, Take Place? (Office, Remote, or Hybrid)

    Changes in machine learning and advances in automation have already changed work for many industries. Still, the COVID-19 pandemic and recent labor shortages forced many brands to rethink what the future of work will look like going forward. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics recently reported a dropping unemployment rate of 4.2% during the fourth

    4 MINUTES READ Continue Reading »
    Future of Work
    7 Tech Companies Changing the Future of Work

    Much has been reported about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in the traditional workplace. The effects of the pandemic are expected to be long-lasting, making it challenging for companies across all industries to keep operations running smoothly. Globally, companies had to be agile and adapt to a new normal, in addition to dealing with

    5 MINUTES READ Continue Reading »
    AI & Machine Learning,Future of Work
    AI’s Role in the Future of Work

    Artificial intelligence is shaping the future of work around the world in virtually every field. The role AI will play in employment in the years ahead is dynamic and collaborative. Rather than eliminating jobs altogether, AI will augment the capabilities and resources of employees and businesses, allowing them to do more with less. In more

    5 MINUTES READ Continue Reading »

    About Us

    Incubated in Harvard Innovation Lab, Experfy specializes in pipelining and deploying the world's best AI and engineering talent at breakneck speed, with exceptional focus on quality and compliance. Enterprises and governments also leverage our award-winning SaaS platform to build their own customized future of work solutions such as talent clouds.

    Join Us At

    Contact Us

    1700 West Park Drive, Suite 190
    Westborough, MA 01581

    Email: support@experfy.com

    Toll Free: (844) EXPERFY or
    (844) 397-3739

    © 2023, Experfy Inc. All rights reserved.