A new survey released today by Remote, an HR technology startup simplifying global employment, found that 82% of organizations are already fully remote, or plan to transition to a more flexible work environment. Additionally, 64% of respondents believe that hiring the best talent regardless of location will foster company creativity and innovation – highlighting how remote work could permanently alter notions around recruitment, top cities for talent, and employee benefits.

Remote’s “Global Workforce Revolution” reportsurveyed 764 U.S. respondents in IT divisions of small- and medium-sized businesses. The survey, conducted in July, shows how the technology sector is embracing and identifying clear benefits from remote work. It spotlights four key areas – the transition to remote work, looking beyond traditional technology hubs for talent, diversity & equality, and the next wave of benefits in the remote work era.

“For years, tech companies have been at the forefront of conceptualizing the workplace – whether it’s onsite perks, generous stipends or other professional development opportunities,” said CEO and co-founder Job van der Voort. “While the tech industry has made small steps towards more flexible workplaces, the COVID-19 pandemic has solidified its practice and benefits. Our survey shows how the tech sector can establish the blueprint for moving to a fully-remote work setup that will ultimately deliver tangible employee hiring, retention, and business benefits.”

Transition to Remote Work

Since the global pandemic, employers and employees are more likely to embrace more flexible remote work environments.

● 82% of organizations are planning to offer more work flexibility or transition to fully-remote work environments (65%), or are already completely remote (17%)

● 86% of organizations had employees ask to work remotely regularly

● 64% of organizations had employees ask to relocate to a different state

● 58% of organizations had employees ask to relocate internationally

Beyond Silicon Valley

Traditional technology hubs such as Silicon Valley have become less attractive for companies looking to hire and retain top tech talent.

● 64% of respondents believe that enabling companies to recruit the best talent in the world regardless of location will allow the tech industry to drive greater creativity and innovation

● 61% agree that entrepreneurs need to look beyond Silicon Valley if they want to find the best talent in the world

● 57% agree that the best talent does not necessarily exist in Silicon Valley anymore

● 48% agree that the financial barriers to entry in Silicon Valley mean the best talent is no longer there

Diversity & Equality

While more than half of respondents believe that diversity & equality is important, there is still a significant opportunity for further commitment to change.

● 65% of respondents believe that people should be entitled to a great career regardless of where they grow up and live

● 62% believe that diversity of perspective in teams is essential to creativity and innovation

● 53% of organizations believe that working harder to remove the barriers to gender and racial equality will help rebuild trust and confidence in the industry

The Next Wave of Employee Benefits

As employers and employees transition to remote work environments, traditional office perks are no longer relevant.

● 48% of respondents want access to healthcare

● 38% want a home office allowance

● 38% want personal development plans or learning development allowances

● 20% would remain at their company six months to a year longer if their company transitioned to a fully-remote workplace, 18% would remain one to two years, while another 18% would stay ten or more years longer

Methodology

The survey was conducted by Sapio Research in July 2020 among 764 U.S. respondents who work in the IT departments of small to medium businesses (companies with 250 or fewer employees). The full report will be available on www.remote.com on August 12.

About Remote

Remote is the world’s first self-serve platform for global payroll, tax, benefits and compliance. Remote enables companies to employ anyone anywhere in the world in minutes through the Remote platform. Founded in San Francisco in 2019 by Job van der Voort (former VP of Product at GitLab) and Marcelo Lebre (former VP of Engineering at Unbabel), Remote is a fully distributed company with employees based in several different countries.