Dive Brief:
- Creative jobs were No. 1 on the list of the top seven remote work opportunities in the U.S., based on the findings of a new report by FlexJobs and Global Workplace Analytics (GWA). An earlier report by the group showed that remote work overall grew by 91% in the past 10 years.
- Taking the top spot in remote opportunities were careers in the creative arts, such as painting, photography, music, web design and interior design; followed by bookkeeping; internet and ecommerce; K-12 online education; graphic design; translation; and math and economics.
- "There is far more variety and depth in the types of career fields that allow people to work from home than most people realize, but this list represents the fields that have experienced particularly high growth during 2019," Sara Sutton, founder, and CEO of FlexJobs, said in a media release. "While a number of factors contribute to growth, all of these fields are highly compatible with remote work, so it may be that companies are using remote work as a strategy to attract candidates in a tight job market."
Dive Insight:
With a growth rate of 91% in just 10 years, remote work could soon become the norm among work options. In fact, companies that harness the "work from anywhere" concept could add $2.36 trillion annually to the U.S. economy, according to U.K.-based Centre of Economics and Business Research (Cebr), supported by software company Citrix Systems, Inc. Cebr said that employers can attract more candidates and improve their hiring and recruiting strategies in the process by offering remote work.
But it's not enough to provide "work from anywhere" options; organizations need solid remote-work policies. A 2018 Upwork report showed that the number of employees who worked from home at least half the time increased by 115% since 2005. This stark and rapid increase requires HR to draft policies identifying which jobs are suitable for remote work programs and what is expected from participants. Also, organizations should ensure that they can provide the support and tools participants need to be engaged and productive off-site.
Organizations that are considering whether to offer remote work must identify which jobs are suitable jobs and which workers can handle the responsibility of working off-site. Andrea Hough, head of Talent Management for Fidelity Investments, advised employers to ease into offering remote-work options before diving in. "If your company is more traditional, and working from home is a completely new concept, don't just jump into the pool with a big splash," wrote Hough in an opinion article for HR Dive. "Tiptoe into the shallow end first. Perhaps you give employees the option of working from home every Friday. If that works, your company may be ready to allow more out-of-the-office options."
