The Latest Remote Work Trends: How Do Remote Workers Work and Train? By Aris Apostolopoulos

Research shows 70% of people globally are remote workers at least once a week. In fact, some of you might even have friends who work from home. You might read remote work blogs, or maybe keep an eye on the trends shaping the industry. But do you know what they actually do when they log on to their computers and get ready for a hard day at work? A new survey has found out.

TalentLMS’ Remote Work Statistics Survey asked 450 full-time remote workers about the state of their professional lives. From which part of their home they work to what tools they use when working. Here goes:

Training remote employees

Remote workers are not that different from 9-5 employees who have to work from a physical office every day — just think that 60% of them work fixed hours. So, just like it happens with nine-to-fivers, it all starts with the right training.

Luckily, according to the survey’s remote workforce statistics, they do receive training. Eighty-seven percent of respondents said they receive regular training with 85% doing it online. What’s weird, though, 67% of remote workers still say they’d like to receive more training.

But who pays for it? Fortunately, 70% receive training directly from their company while only 17% pay for their own courses. Phew!

Remote work trends: How do they work?

We know they work from home. But where exactly?

Stats about the remote work survey suggest that 31% own a home office and use it as their main working area. A finding which, according to Business Insider and Up Market Research, indicates that the housing and the home office furniture markets are changing and proliferating due to the rising trend remote work.

For a more detailed look into the exact location, remote employees work from, check this image below:

Of course, those who work from their living rooms (27%) were mostly single, with no children, so they didn’t have to isolate themselves to find peace. On the other hand, remote workers who said they worked from a home office didn’t live alone.

However, background noise isn’t a big problem — at least for the majority (79%) of the workers who took part in the survey. More specifically, trends show that 25% of respondents work with their television on just to stimulate the office sounds and focus. On the other hand, only 21% have zero work soundtrack and concentrate in complete silence.

Does it sound lonely to you? It might be, considering how much human interaction affects satisfaction. Another recent survey, TalentLMS’ Employee Onboarding Survey,  suggests that new hires who don’t meet their supervisors on day one score a satisfaction rate of 20%. For those welcomed by their supervisors, the number doubled to 41%.

So, it comes as no surprise they use communication apps to replace the human element with technology.

When asked about their most-used tools, 27% of respondents checked Skype, 13% WhatsApp, and 12% Google Hangouts. So, 52% of respondents use communication apps frequently to chat with their team and supervisors from day one.

Remote work and productivity

Skeptics might argue: “Remote work is just an easy way for people to stay at home and do nothing while nobody monitors their performance.” Honestly, this is as invalid as all fake news and hoaxes put together.

Are you ready for it? According to the same statistics, 90% of respondents say they feel more productive and get more work done when working remotely. And as for evaluation? Their job gets assessed by their managers all the time.

So, if you’re thinking about following a remote work career, don’t believe that your schedule or your everyday life will be that different from a typical 9-5 employee. Most likely, you’ll still have to work fixed hours.

If you’re thinking about hiring a remote workforce, you should know that there’s nothing to be afraid of. Invest in train your remote employees, boost your remote work productivity within the team, and get to work!

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