Inflation and rising housing costs have delivered a double whammy to the average American worker over the last couple of years. It's harder to make ends meet, yet not all companies are rewarding employees with raises to help meet ongoing cost-of-living increases. This is especially true for remote workers.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), civilian workers' wages and salaries increased 3.9 percent for the 12-month period ending in September 2024 (the most recent statistics available) and increased 4.6 percent for the 12-month period ending in September 2023. While those increases don't quite keep up with inflation and the rise in housing costs, every dollar helps.
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With the unemployment rate hovering at around four percent, most economists believe the U.S. economy is stable, and that level of unemployment suggests most people who want to work are working. Still, according to a recent LinkedIn Market Research survey, many remote workers have been left out of the wage increases reported by the BLS.
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LinkedIn survey finds income flat for many remote workers
The LinkedIn survey of 8,606 professionals in the U.S. was conducted between Sept. 21 through Nov. 15, 2024 and found that just 56% of remote workers reported getting a raise during that timeframe. On the other hand, 64% of hybrid workers received a pay increase in the last year; 59% of "mostly onsite" workers did, too.
For the purposes of the LinkedIn survey, people who were on-site at least one day a week were considered hybrid workers. One possible takeaway from the report is that hybrid work seems to be the sweet spot for employers who get enough face time with employees that they then feel compelled to offer pay raises.
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Remote and hybrid work are very popular with many employees, since it means they don't have to commute every day, saving time and money. And the flexibility allows them to complete the kinds of errands they must usually do on the weekends or before/after work, like laundry.
Not all employers are as enthusiastic.
"Remote and hybrid work has been on a steady decline since its peak in March 2022, and in 2024, we saw availability of these roles reach a new normal of around 1 in 5 jobs," said LinkedIn spokesperson Shadin Al-Dossari in an email to TheStreet. "As return-to-office orders continue, we expect that remote work offerings may decline further — but that doesn’t mean demand will fade."
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In fact, according to LinkedIn's Work Change Snapshot, in the past year, while job postings for remote and hybrid roles in the US decreased by 13%, a whopping 63% of job applications on LinkedIn went to those roles. And since early 2023, the rate at which people apply for flexible work (remote or hybrid roles) on LinkedIn has consistently represented at least 60% of all applications on LinkedIn.
The share of people applying to remote roles has consistently been at least triple the share of remote job openings, Al-Dossari said.
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Amazon's demand to employees: return to office in 2025 or look for another job
Amazon, among other major employers, announced earlier this year that remote workers must return to the office, or else. Amazon's October announcement stated that starting on Jan. 2, 2025, employees must return to working in their respective offices five days a week.
Many workers expressed outrage, a survey from Blind revealed that 73% of Amazon employees were considering looking for another job due to the new policy.
Related: Amazon exec has tough words for employees over return to office
As for the LinkedIn survey, Leslie Marant, an attorney and CEO wrote, "Today’s job seekers are asking for both: competitive compensation and flexibility. And why not? A well-organized employer with a culture that values team performance, nurtures a healthy workplace environment, and effectively manages its workforce can — and should — offer both."
Another commenter, Christos Efthymious, Ph.D., a computational biologist and chemist, wrote, "I'm not sure if these differences are statistically significant. Regardless, I think it's unfortunate that in-person workers receive may be treated differently. I highly value my ability to work remotely, and would take a dip in compensation to receive that flexibility. However, I don't think this is a decision workers should have to make. You should be paid for the value you add to the company, not whether you're willing to leave your family, friends, etc. to move somewhere and commute to an office where you'll most likely be on Zoom or Teams meetings all day anyway."
Employee protests aside, according to Karin Kimbrough, Ph.D., chief economist at LinkedIn, flexible work is in flux, particularly as companies continue to evolve their return-to-office mandates. "A quarter of professionals say one of their current biggest challenges is proving they can successfully work remotely," she writes.
Flexible work also has its downsides, too, since some employees feel a need to "overcompensate" in order to prove they are working hard enough. Opportunities for remote and hybrid roles have decreased as employers lean more into on-site work, Kimbrough added.
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