The Favorite and Least Favorite Aspects of Remote Work in the U.S.

Even before COVID-19, remote work was a growing trend in the United States. We even ranked the top cities for remote work (pre-COVID). Remote work offers flexibility for employees and potential cost-savings for employers.

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, many workers have been working remotely for the first time. Hundreds of companies have switched to a fully remote schedule and many plan to stay that way for the foreseeable future, some longer.

While there are many positive aspects to working remotely, there are drawbacks as well. With that in mind, we asked over 3,200 Americans about favorite and least favorite aspects of working remotely. Read on for our full findings.

Let’s start with the positives. Our first question was on respondents’ favorite part about remote work. We asked from a list of 9 options and then analyzed by state. Six of those choices were the top aspect in at least one state.

What we found is that being able to work in a space that’s your own dominated the map. Second by count of states is the ability or freedom to take short breaks for little things like walks, doing laundry, tidying up, etc. Interestingly, only five states said that the reduced or zero commute time was their favorite.

Here’s the breakdown by count of states. A chart of our full results is at the bottom of this report.

27 states – Working in a space that’s your own
13 states – Freedom to take short breaks for a walk, start laundry, tidy up, etc.
5 states – No or reduced commute time
2 states – Monetary savings (from gas, car maintenance, lunches out, professional wardrobe, etc.)
2 states – Able to be with pets
1 state – More flexible work hours

Above is a chart of the results when analyzed overall and nationally. While not as dominate as the map, working in your own space remains the options with the highest amount of responses at 25% — a quarter of Americans.

Second is freedom for short breaks (18%) and no or reduced commute time is third (14%).

The three options which did not make the map did have some responses. Coming in last at 1% is having the room temperate at the precise setting you want.

Now let’s take a look at Americans’ least favorite part about remote work.

Unfortunately while there are many benefits to remote work, there are also drawbacks. Reduced human interaction, especially on top of the COVID-19 situation, can lead to feelings of isolation. Our survey found this aspects is the most common response for least favorite aspect.

Coming in second by count of states is reduced of blurred lines of work-life balance. It’s much easier to either start work earlier, work later, or “just check a few emails” when your workplace is also where you live.

Here’s the breakdown by count of states:

21 states – Feeling isolated
14 states – Reduced or blurred lines of work-life balance
5 states – Increased distraction (from pets, kids, etc)
5 states – Feeling less connected (less of a bond) to coworkers
4 states – Video calls / video conference calls
1 state – Feeling less motivated

Now let’s see the overall results.

The above chart is the overall, national analysis of Americans’ least favorite aspect of remote work. The order follows fairly similarly to the count of states. However, the percentages for each response are varied from the state count.

First is still feeling isolated at 21%. Second is reduced or blurred work-life balance at 16% followed by increased distractions (15%).

From there, video calls is the clear number four overall at 13% but fourth by count of states. Boredom from lack of social interaction (5%), waiting for replies to messages (4%), and increased difficultly showcasing achievements (4%) took the last three positions.

Finally, we wanted to dig into the question so many ask: Are we more productive while working from home?

Productivity while working remotely can be quantified in many ways, but our question was more nuanced: Do you feel more productive working remotely?

The response was an overwhelming yes. Nearly 80% — or 4 out of 5 — of Americans say they feel more productive while working remote.

Here’s a chart of every state’s most-common response:

State	Favorite Aspect	Least Favorite Aspect
Alabama	Working in a space that’s your own	Feeling isolated
Alaska	Working in a space that’s your own	Feeling isolated
Arizona	Able to be with pets	Feeling isolated
Arkansas	Working in a space that’s your own	Reduced or blurred lines of work-life balance
California	Working in a space that’s your own	Feeling isolated
Colorado	No or reduced commute time	Reduced or blurred lines of work-life balance
Connecticut	Working in a space that’s your own	Feeling isolated
Delaware	Monetary savings (from gas, car maintenance, lunches out, professional wardrobe, etc.)	Increased distraction (from pets, kids, etc)
Florida	Working in a space that’s your own	Feeling isolated
Georgia	Freedom to take short breaks for a walk, start laundry, tidy up, make a snack, etc	Reduced or blurred lines of work-life balance
Hawaii	Monetary savings (from gas, car maintenance, lunches out, professional wardrobe, etc.)	Reduced or blurred lines of work-life balance
Idaho	Working in a space that’s your own	Reduced or blurred lines of work-life balance
Illinois	Freedom to take short breaks for a walk, start laundry, tidy up, make a snack, etc	Feeling isolated
Indiana	Working in a space that’s your own	Increased distraction (from pets, kids, etc)
Iowa	Working in a space that’s your own	Feeling isolated
Kansas	Working in a space that’s your own	Increased distraction (from pets, kids, etc)
Kentucky	Freedom to take short breaks for a walk, start laundry, tidy up, make a snack, etc	Increased distraction (from pets, kids, etc)
Louisiana	Working in a space that’s your own	Reduced or blurred lines of work-life balance
Maine	Working in a space that’s your own	Reduced or blurred lines of work-life balance
Maryland	Freedom to take short breaks for a walk, start laundry, tidy up, make a snack, etc	Feeling isolated
Massachusetts	No or reduced commute time	Video calls / video conference calls
Michigan	Freedom to take short breaks for a walk, start laundry, tidy up, make a snack, etc	Feeling isolated
Minnesota	No or reduced commute time	Feeling less connected (less of a bond) to coworkers
Mississippi	Freedom to take short breaks for a walk, start laundry, tidy up, make a snack, etc	Reduced or blurred lines of work-life balance
Missouri	Freedom to take short breaks for a walk, start laundry, tidy up, make a snack, etc	Reduced or blurred lines of work-life balance
Montana	Working in a space that’s your own	Reduced or blurred lines of work-life balance
Nebraska	Working in a space that’s your own	Feeling less connected (less of a bond) to coworkers
Nevada	Working in a space that’s your own	Feeling isolated
New Hampshire	Freedom to take short breaks for a walk, start laundry, tidy up, make a snack, etc	Reduced or blurred lines of work-life balance
New Jersey	No or reduced commute time	Feeling isolated
New Mexico	Working in a space that’s your own	Feeling isolated
New York	Working in a space that’s your own	Feeling isolated
North Carolina	Freedom to take short breaks for a walk, start laundry, tidy up, make a snack, etc	Increased distraction (from pets, kids, etc)
North Dakota	Working in a space that’s your own	Feeling isolated
Ohio	Working in a space that’s your own	Feeling isolated
Oklahoma	Freedom to take short breaks for a walk, start laundry, tidy up, make a snack, etc	Feeling less motivated
Oregon	Freedom to take short breaks for a walk, start laundry, tidy up, make a snack, etc	Video calls / video conference calls
Pennsylvania	No or reduced commute time	Reduced or blurred lines of work-life balance
Rhode Island	More flexible work hours	Video calls / video conference calls
South Carolina	Working in a space that’s your own	Reduced or blurred lines of work-life balance
South Dakota	Working in a space that’s your own	Feeling less connected (less of a bond) to coworkers
Tennessee	Working in a space that’s your own	Reduced or blurred lines of work-life balance
Texas	Working in a space that’s your own	Feeling isolated
Utah	Freedom to take short breaks for a walk, start laundry, tidy up, make a snack, etc	Feeling isolated
Vermont	Able to be with pets	Feeling isolated
Virginia	Working in a space that’s your own	Feeling isolated
Washington	Working in a space that’s your own	Feeling isolated
West Virginia	Freedom to take short breaks for a walk, start laundry, tidy up, make a snack, etc	Feeling less connected (less of a bond) to coworkers
Wisconsin	Working in a space that’s your own	Video calls / video conference calls
Wyoming	Working in a space that’s your own	Feeling less connected (less of a bond) to coworkers

Final Thoughts

All signs point to remote work being a significant part of worklife now and in the future. Tech giants have announced remote work through the end of 2020 and well into 2021. Twitter announced a policy for permanent remote work.

Remote work can be an amazing thing for many employees. It allows for job opportunities previously not open, flexibility in multiple areas, and usually no commute time. However, it can lead to feeling isolated or less connected to coworkers.

Ultimately, we believe it’s good to have options (especially during the pandemic) so that people are able to work in the way that best suites them.