Employers offering workers the option to work from home inched ever-so-slowly into the mainstream in recent years. The COVID-19 pandemic turned that option into a necessity -- and it could become a long-term norm for the technology industry.
Survey company Blind conducted a study with more than 4,400 workers in technology to assess the likelihood or desire for them to continue working remotely. In technology hubs of the Bay Area, New York and Seattle, two-thirds of respondents said they would consider relocating if given the option to work remote full-time.
Perhaps of no coincidence, Bureau of Labor Statistics data shows that these three metropolitan combine to account for half of the 10 most expensive cities in America: Brooklyn/Manhattan; San Francisco/Oakland; and Seattle proper.
However, cost of living may not be the sole, or even a primary determining factor. Those responding to Blind's survey in the Bay Area suggest they would not relocate out of the region to work from home, instead remaining within driving distance to check into the physical workspace as necessary.
What's more, only 15% of respondents from the Bay Area-based Twitter said they wanted to work from home full-time, never envisioning a return to the physical office. A 100% virtual work place may still be a few years away.
Nevertheless, expect primary work-from-home to at least be a more common option for the foreseeable future. To wit, the CareerCast database of job listings as of September 2020 has more than 10,000 openings specifically citing the keyword Remote. In Technology sector specifically, CareerCast has nearly 3,000 remote jobs in September 2020.