For the same job, remote employees earn more than their office-based counterparts, according to several studies.
"Are you willing to receive a lower salary if the company you are applying to offers you more flexibility (4-day week, remote jobs, etc.)?" While the labor market is undergoing a period of transformation that will not be reversed, the question often comes up in surveys.
It is true that it allows us to measure the appetite of employees (and it is growing) for these new organizational forms. However, in the real world, "real life" as it is commonly called, such a trade-off does not necessarily have to be made. In other words, a teleworker does not necessarily earn less than an office worker for the same work. In fact, from this point of view, teleworkers are often better off.
In full remote, higher salaries
This is what the report "2022 State of Tech Salaries: Navigating an Uncertain Hiring Market", published by Hired, shows. This report covers the US, Canada, and the UK. It sheds a fascinating light on what is currently going on among tech employees.
According to the study, tech employees are now paid more when they work remotely. In all three countries, telecommuters are paid an average of $3,000 more per year.
Geographically, the San Francisco Bay Area and its region holds the pole position with an average local salary of $174,063, followed by Seattle at $168,069 and New York at $161,128. But the highest salary increases were in Toronto and London.
In fact, the trend has been going on for some time. The "2021-state-of-remote-work-employer-survey-report" by Payscale already came to the same conclusion: "Employees who telework 100% are paid more than those who work permanently on site". A difference that varies on average, depending on the method of calculation, between +1.9% and 23.7%, which, let's face it, is no mean feat.
A trend that cuts across many sectors
And it's not just tech employees who are affected. Here again, the United States offer a striking illustration, this time in the field of marketing. With the exception of the marketing director himself, all marketing-related positions are better paid when the employee works remotely1. This is the case for the marketing assistant (+25.38% than his or her face-to-face counterpart), the marketing executive (+0.15%), and the marketing manager (+7.48%).
We could multiply the examples and extend them to other industries and professions. From consultants to operations managers, from sales managers to technicians, all earn more remotely than on site. According to the same study1, across the Atlantic, remote workers will earn, on average, 13.58% more than their office-based counterparts in 2022.
It is proof that teleworkers don't have to choose between wages and flexibility. In the field, the two undoubtedly go hand in hand.
PS: While we're on the subject of flexibility, a final word on what's happening around the world. Experiments concerning the 4-day week are multiplying in the world. Japan, Spain, Iceland, Ireland, Japan, the United Arab Emirates, and of course Belgium, where the 4-day work week could very soon be enshrined in the law, are now involved in experiments on the subject (or more). A standard is being created.
1 Figures compiled by Wrike, a subsidiary of Citrix