A new report from Owl Labs claims that although two-thirds of US workers now work away from their main place of work some of the time, there are still many people and organisations that are unaware of the benefits, processes and challenges involved in flexible working. The new report explores the effect flexible working has on personal happiness, recruitment, retention and skills as well as exploring the attitudes of people who are based in a fixed place of work.

Although nearly two-thirds of US workers polled said they work remotely at least some of the time, the share of remote workers by income disproportionately favours the higher income categories, as is the case in the UK. Senior leadership represents the highest percentage of full-time remote workers among those polled.

Relative to their share of the total workforce, the following industries have the highest percentages of people who work remotely: Healthcare (15 percent), Technology/Internet (10 percent), and Financial Services (9 percent).

Relative to their share of the total workforce, the following departments have the highest percentages of people who work remotely: Facilities/Operations/IT (18 percent), Customer Service/Support/Success (15 percent), and Sales (14 percent).

How people feel about flexible working

Workers who work remotely, at least some of the time are happier, feel more trusted, less stressed, are more inclined to recommend their employer to a friend, and are less likely to leave than their office-bound colleagues. Remote workers are 29 percent happier in their jobs than on-site workers.

The impact on worries about career progression for remote workers are greatly exaggerated

In fact, more than a third of workers would take a pay cut of up to 5 percent in exchange for the option to work remotely at least some of the time; a quarter would take a 10 percent pay cut; 20 percent would take an even greater cut.

More than 40 percent of remote workers plan to work remotely more frequently in the future, and more than 50 percent of on-site workers want to work remotely in the future. Only 19 percent of on-site workers say they do not want to work remotely at any frequency.

The impact on worries about career progression for remote workers are greatly exaggerated, according to the report. More than two-thirds of remote workers are not concerned that working remotely will limit their movement up the corporate ladder.