Google searches for ‘Remote jobs’ hit their highest level

AFP
Published August 27, 2022


A typical office desk. Image: Mattes / Wikimedia / Public Domain (CC0 1.0)

Searches in the UK for ‘remote jobs’ has hit their highest ever level during August of 2022, more than two years after the very first COVID-19 lockdown. This shows that the working cultural changes initiated by the behavioural changes triggered by the pandemic continue to resonate.

A new study, which comes from document management company SmallPDF reveals that Google searches for remote jobs hit their highest ever level since searches began being recorded in 2004.

According to the UK government, searches for ‘remote IT jobs’ also hit their highest level ever, indicating a demand in the industry for working from home opportunities.

For many, working at home remains a new development. For example, 56 percent of those currently working remote have only been doing so since the onset of the 2020 coronavirus pandemic.

There is a class divide with the types of occupations that are permitted to work from home. People who earn under £20,000 per year, for example, have a less than 5 percent chance of being able to work remotely. The ability to request remote work is something that is more common to the professional-managerial class.

There are also variations in terms of demographics. With these, the 25–34 year-old age group are the most likely to be working remotely.

Linking back to the SmallPDF data, the proportion of working adults who did any work from home in 2020 increased to 37 percent on average from 27 percent in 2019. This assessment also found that those workers living in London were those most likely to homework, either permanently or through a hybrid approach.

Hybrid working varies. The most common hybrid working pattern that workers undertake is working mostly from home, and sometimes from their usual place of work.

A spokesperson from SmallPDF has told Digital Journal: “As train strikes continue, interest in remote work is at an all-time high, with many people looking for home working jobs due to the uncertainty of further strike action. This is accompanied with the pandemic sparking a never before seen influx of opportunities to work from home, meaning interest in remote working may continue to rise over the next decade.”

In addition, it is noted: “It’ll be interesting to see how this demand for remote working affects certain industries, and the thinking of corporate management in their future hiring processes.”