Working Remotely on the Rise

Increasingly, employees are working remotely as companies seek to reduce their real estate portfolios and save money, according to a new report.

The study of real estate professionals by CoreNet Global, “Corporate Real Estate 2010: Enabling Work in a Networked World,” found that over half of respondents indicated that 10 percent or more of their knowledge workers work remotely, and 65 percent have stopped providing an assigned workspace to at least 10 percent of their workforce. Twenty-seven corporate real estate professionals from Fortune 500 firms were surveyed for the results.

The survey also indicated that 25 percent of a corporation’s knowledge workers would work remotely by 2010, a prediction that is gradually coming true. With the widespread availability of broadband and DSL, combined with extensive use of laptop computers, work no longer has to be performed in a traditional office setting. The last five years have firmly established the capability for most knowledge workers to do their jobs outside of an assigned workspace and in some cases, outside the walls of the company.

In 2004, when CoreNet Global began researching the phenomena of remote work, less then 7 percent of companies allowed hoteling, hotdesking or working from home. The resulting Gallup survey, released in 2004, predicted that by 2010, 25 percent of knowledge workers would work remotely. Today's research reports an adoption rate of 20 percent three years from decade's end.

Additionally, of those surveyed:
- Seventy-three percent said introduced or increased desk sharing/un-assigned workstations were deployed workplace tactics in the past year
- Sixty-nine percent said improved ergonomics, lighting, comfort and functionality were deployed workplace tactics in the past year
- Sixty percent said introduced or increased drop-in spaces were deployed workplace tactics in the past year.

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