Don't Want to Get Fired? Work in the Office?... Remote Work Has a 35% Higher Risk of Dismissal Than Commuting

Analysis of US Office Workers
Remote Workers Have 35% Higher Layoff Rate

It has been found that employees working from home are at a higher risk of being laid off during restructuring processes compared to those working in the office. On the 26th (local time), The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported, "According to Live Data Technologies, a U.S. employment statistics provider, the likelihood of being laid off for individuals who worked fully from home in 2023 was 35% higher than for other types of workers." They also showed relatively higher rates of voluntary resignation and job changes.

The statistics were based on a survey of 2 million office workers in the United States, revealing that the layoff rate for employees who worked fully from home last year was about 10%. In contrast, the layoff rate for those who commuted to the office or worked in a hybrid manner was about 7%. 'Hybrid work' refers to a work style combining office attendance and working from home. However, there was significant downsizing last year in the tech sector, which had seen active hiring during the COVID-19 period, and this may have influenced the statistics. Tech companies tend to have more active remote work.

There is an analysis that even partial face-to-face contact in the office helps build bonds among employees, which can be advantageous in layoff situations. Andy Challenger, Vice President of the reemployment consulting firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas, told WSJ, "When a company decides on a 10% reduction, HR managers tend to target employees with lower intimacy." Meanwhile, remote workers were also found to have a higher rate of voluntary resignation. Among them, 12% left their previous company last year and found new employment within two months, compared to only 9% for other work types.

Differences in perception of remote work still exist. In the second quarter of last year, the polling firm Gallup asked full-time U.S. employees, "How do you think company culture will be affected if many employees work remotely for a long time?" According to the results, general employees believed it would "improve" (24%) more than "worsen" (13%), but among management, "worsen" (27%) was higher than "improve" (16%). There is also a statistic showing that the promotion rate for remote workers in the U.S. last year was 3.9%, lower than that of other work types (5.6%).