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Key Takeaways:
Article: Is Remote Work More or Less Productive Than On-Site Work?
There is little debate about the significance that the COVID-19 pandemic has had in terms of enabling the rise of remote work and reshaping both the workplace and worker expectations as a result.
There is considerably more debate, however, about the impacts that remote and hybrid work have on worker productivity.
While attempts over the last few years to quantify change in productivity due to remote work have yielded mixed results, the Bureau of Labor Statistics recently published what appears to be the most comprehensive analysis of productivity as it relates to remote work yet, which yielded some very interesting insights about more than just remote worker productivity.
The Big Question: How Does Remote Work Productivity Compare to On-Site Work Productivity
The simplest answer to the question of whether or not remote work is more, less, or equally as productive as on-site work is that remote work is on average more productive than on-site work.
As is often the case, however, the simplest answer is not necessarily the most helpful or accurate one. There are a number of different factors that can influence whether remote work is more or less productive than on-site work, including industry type and size, as well as less easily generalized factors such as off-site working conditions, which can vary from one employee to the next.
How remote work is defined as well as how productivity is measured are also crucial considerations that can significantly affect whether remote work is more, less, or comparably productive.
The Rise of Remote Work Across Major Industries
Remote work predates the pandemic, of course, and in fact about 6.5% of private sector workers in the US were already working remotely in 2019.
With the implementation of social distancing policies as the Pandemic spread across the US in the spring of 2020, remote work saw a dramatic upswing in many sectors, with some industries seeing more than 30% increases in the proportion of their workforces that are working remotely.
For the following analysis, the term remote work encompasses both fully remote work and hybrid work arrangements where the majority of work is done off-site.
Remote work rose across all industries in the first years of the pandemic. Although the proportion of employees working remotely fell some as social distancing policies at the workplace expired, remote work still remains above 2019 levels in all industries except the agriculture, forestry, fishing, and hunting industry. This, however, is in part because that industry had one of the top 5 largest remote participation rates among industries even before the pandemic.
Although remote work participation increased across almost all industries into the early post-pandemic years, that increase has not been equally distributed, and some industries have seen much more substantial increases in remote work than others.
In 2019, there were only 5 industries with more than 10% of their workforces working remotely - professional, science, and technical services (16.5%); information (11.4%); finance and insurance (10.5%); real estate rental and leasing (12.4%); and agriculture, forestry, fishing, and hunting (13.6%).
By the end of 2022, however, more than 75% of major industries had at least 10% of their workforce working remotely.
In fact, as of the most recent data collection, there were only 5 major industries with less than 10% remote participation: retail (9.4%); mining (7.2%); construction (7.8%); food services (4.8%); and transportation and warehousing (8.8%).
At the same time, there are 4 major industries with more than 30% remote work participation, including 1 with more than 40%: information (38.8%); finance and insurance (37.6%); management of companies (33.0%); and professional, scientific, and technical services (41.4%).
Measuring Remote Work Productivity
While different firms have attempted to use a range of different metrics by which to evaluate remote work productivity, including emails sent, managerial performance reviews, and phone calls logged per hour for example, for the purposes of this analysis, productivity is measured by Total Factor Productivity (TFP).
TFP is calculated by dividing worker output by all the inputs that go into producing that output, which provides a more comprehensive and dynamic understanding of productivity as a function of the varied costs that facilitate production.
For example, TFP takes into account not only the reduced labor costs that can accompany remote work due to remote workers accepting lower wages in exchange for flexibility or because they live somewhere with a lower cost of living, but TFP also takes into account other inputs that can change as a result of remote work, such as reduced office space, utility usage, turnover/recruiting service needs, and on-site/local perks and benefits expenses per employee.
How Industry Type and Size Impact Remote Work Productivity
Industry Type
Each industry has its own set of challenges and opportunities when it comes to implementing remote work, and not all industries have been equally proactive in embracing remote work and/or capturing the maximum productivity/value from remote operational structures.
In that light, it does not necessarily follow that industries with higher TFP scores are better suited for remote work while industries with lower TFP scores are less well suited because the circumstances involved within each industry and how each has approached remote work can be radically different.
That said, some industries have certainly fared much better than others when it comes to retaining and increasing productivity output relative to input via remote work.
Some of the industries with the highest TFP ratio, indicating the greatest year-over-year growth in net output over input as remote work quickly escalated during the pandemic, include data processing, internet publishing, and other information services; funds, trusts, and other financial vehicles; publishing; rental and leasing; and chemical products.
Some of the industries with the lowest (negative) TFP ratios, indicating a loss of productivity correlated with the rise of remote work, include air transportation; oil and gas extraction; metal products; and performing arts, museums, spectator sports, and related activities.
The industries with the largest productivity gains as remote work rose during the pandemic were funds, trusts, and other financial vehicles; data processing, internet publishing, and other information services; computer system design and related services; and publishing services including software.
The only industries to record decreasing remote work productivity during the pandemic as measured by TFP are securities, commodities contracts, and other financial investments; insurance carriers and related activities; and broadcast and telecommunications.
Industry Size
Productivity gains must also be considered in light of industry size, with relatively smaller industries seeing more extreme productivity swings than relatively larger industries.
Some of the larger industries that recorded remote-work-induced productivity gains include construction; real estate; miscellaneous professional, scientific, and technical services; and federal reserve banks, credit intermediation, and related activities.
Some of the larger industries that experienced a net decrease in productivity because of remote work’s rapid adoption are retail; wholesale; broadcasting and telecommunications; insurance carriers and related activities; and ambulatory healthcare services.
In total, across the 61 industries that were analyzed, on average each 1% increase in remote work participation resulted in a 0.08% increase in TFP.
Mployer’s Take
With 7 out of the top 10 industries that recorded the largest increases in remote work during the pandemic all correspondingly increasing their output by a larger margin than their input costs, the correlation between remote work and increased productivity is clear.
That said, remote work is not a one-size-fits-all solution for every given job function or private organization let alone any/every industry.
Certain industries - especially those heavily involving tech, data, publishing, and professional and scientific services - seem to be particularly well-suited for remote working arrangements, while other industries with a disproportionately large number of location-specific jobs like retail, mining, transportation & warehousing, and construction, are less well-suited in general.
That said, within nearly every organization regardless of industry there are jobs that are primed for remote work, even if not every organization in every industry is equally prepared to capture the same value and productivity from remote arrangements where applicable.
Despite the growing evidence of the productivity benefits associated with remote work, however, many organizations may move away from and/or downsize remote programs in the coming years, especially if the job market shifts in favor of employers as it is likely to do.
Larger and older organizations with more established managerial structures may choose to bring employees back to on-site work for a variety of reasons such as fostering collaboration, justifying commercial real estate expenses, and encouraging voluntary turnover in line with planned reductions in the organization’s payroll.
Still, because remote work is most effectively utilized by smaller, more tech-heavy organizations, new market entrants will increasingly rely on remote work to capture the productivity benefits and gain an advantage over the entrenched players in their markets.
As a result, remote work is likely to see an upward trajectory over the long term as successful remote-friendly new entrants grow and absorb an increasing share of the market, but the short-term prospects for remote work growth remain uncertain and may be linked to the greater economy and job market.
As this analysis makes clear, however, on average, remote work is more productive than on-site work, and organizations that are best able to capture that value regardless of industry or organizational size/type can obtain and/or maintain a meaningful advantage over their competition.
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Competing for Talent in a Constrained Market
The labor market remains highly competitive, particularly for skilled and high-performing roles. Despite some macroeconomic cooling, the structural shortage of qualified talent persists: nearly three-quarters of employers continue to report difficulty filling key positions. At the same time, employee expectations have evolved — flexibility, security, and well-being now weigh as heavily as base compensation in determining employer preference.
For most organizations, benefits represent one of the largest investments in the total rewards portfolio. Yet in practice, those investments are often under-leveraged in the recruiting process. Health coverage, retirement plans, paid time off, and wellness programs frequently appear as a brief bullet point in job descriptions or are mentioned only when an offer is extended. By that stage, the opportunity to differentiate has largely passed.
Mployer’s recent survey of more than 700 companies across 17 industries found that employers who clearly communicate the value of their benefits — and substantiate that value through credible data or recognition — are nine times more likely to be selected by candidates and to convert accepted offers. Transparency and validation drive both higher-quality applicant flow and stronger offer acceptance rates.
Transparency Converts Interest Into Action
In a competitive market, candidates are no longer applying indiscriminately. They evaluate prospective employers through publicly available information, reviews, and visible signals of value. When benefit information is vague, candidates interpret that as a risk. “Competitive benefits” have become shorthand for “average,” and uncertainty creates hesitation.
Conversely, when an organization provides a clear, quantified, and credible overview of its benefits, the dynamic changes immediately. Candidates are more willing to engage early, stay active through the interview process, and make faster, more confident decisions.
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The Missed Opportunity: The Awkward Offer Conversation
In many recruiting processes today, the discussion around benefits occurs only after a verbal or written offer is made. The exchange is familiar: the candidate receives the offer, reviews the salary, and then pauses at the benefits section — uncertain whether what’s being offered is “good” or “below market.”
Recruiters often find themselves attempting to explain why the plan is competitive, citing anecdotal points about employer contributions or coverage levels. But without comparative data, the explanation sounds defensive, not differentiating. The candidate may nod politely but remain unconvinced — or worse, use the ambiguity to negotiate or delay.
At that stage, the opportunity to use benefits as a selling point has already been lost. The employer is reacting rather than leading.
In contrast, organizations that proactively communicate the strength of their benefits — in quantitative and comparative terms — enter offer discussions from a position of confidence. The candidate already understands the total value being provided and perceives the offer as comprehensive, not partial.
This is the distinction between defending your benefits and leveraging them. One undermines momentum; the other accelerates decisions.
Making Benefits a Strategic Differentiator
Leading employers are now approaching benefits communication as a core component of their talent strategy — not an HR formality. Several best practices have emerged:
These practices shorten time-to-hire, increase offer acceptance rates, and strengthen employer brand equity in measurable ways.
From Hidden Cost to Competitive Advantage
For many organizations, benefits are treated primarily as a cost center — a compliance requirement and a necessary expense. In reality, they are one of the most powerful levers available for talent attraction and retention.
When the value of those benefits is communicated with clarity, evidence, and confidence, the perception shifts. The benefits package becomes part of the employer’s market narrative — a tangible signal of how the company invests in its people.
In a tight labor market, that clarity doesn’t just help you attract candidates; it helps you close them.
How Mployer Enables Employers to Compete
Mployer helps organizations turn their benefits into a verified strategic advantage. We independently evaluate and rate employee benefit plans, comparing them across thousands of employers nationwide.
Participating organizations receive a clear assessment of how their benefits stack up against peers, along with recognition materials and benchmarking insights that can be shared directly with candidates. These assets — digital badges, comparison visuals, and concise summaries — give recruiting teams the ability to communicate benefit value credibly and consistently.
Employers across the country are already using Mployer’s data-driven validation to increase applicant volume, improve offer acceptance rates, and reinforce their reputation as employers of choice.
If you’d like to see how your benefits compare, we offer a free initial benchmark report to qualified employers. Join thousands of organizations already leveraging independent proof to strengthen their talent strategy — and move from explaining your benefits to winning with them.
In today’s hyper-competitive labor market, the fight for high-end talent has become a defining business challenge. Organizations invest significant resources into hiring and developing high- performing employees—only to lose them to competitors offering slightly higher pay or better benefits. The cost of voluntary turnover is not only financial; it disrupts operations, damages customer relationships, and erodes company culture.This white paper explores how offering market-competitive benefits—and communicating them effectively—dramatically reduces voluntary turnover. Backed by Mployer’s proprietary benchmarking and benefit rating data, we’ll show how employers that promote their benefits will experience on average 27% lower voluntary turnover each year and potentially up to 51% lower annual turnover compared to peers.
The Cost of Losing Great Talent
Every HR leader and CFO understands the financial cost of turnover—but few quantify its full scope. When an employee leaves voluntarily, costs include:
• Recruiting and onboarding new talent (often 30–50% of annual salary)
• Lost productivity during ramp-up and training
• Knowledge drain, as institutional know-how walks out the door
• Team disruption and morale impacts
• Customer relationship risks when account-facing employees depart
For specialized or customer-integrated roles, this loss compounds. A trained employee with both technical knowledge and deep integration into your teams and clients is a valuable asset—one not easily replaced. Studies show total turnover costs can exceed 1.5x–2x the employee’s annual salary for mid-level positions.
The Talent War: Competing Beyond Compensation
Across industries, the labor market remains tight. Wage competition has intensified, especially in sectors where every dollar per hour matters—manufacturing, wholesale trade, and financial services among them. Employees are increasingly willing to move for small pay increases, unless they clearly understand the total value of their benefits package.This is where benefit perception and communication become critical. When employees can see and understand the full value of what you provide—healthcare coverage, retirement matching, paid leave, mental health support—they’re less likely to be swayed by modest salary increases elsewhere. In short, benefits visibility equals retention power.
The Data: Better Benefits, Better Retention
Mployer Advisor’s analysis found that companies with highly rated benefits and effective benefits communication experience an average of 27% lower voluntary turnover than their peers. That’s a significant impact—one that directly translates into stronger productivity, reduced recruiting costs, and better workforce stability.How We Measured It: To understand how benefits quality and communication influence retention, Mployer Advisor conducted a cross-industry analysis using a blended methodology:
• Sample Group: Thousands of U.S. employers across key industries were evaluated, each with at least 50 full-time employees.
• Benefit Quality Scoring: Companies were benchmarked using Mployer’s proprietary benefit rating system, which integrates multiple data sources—including public ratings, plan benchmarking data, and employee feedback metrics.
• Communication Effectiveness: We measured not just the quality of benefits offered, but how clearly and frequently those benefits were communicated to employees through internal channels, digital materials, and recognition programs.
• Turnover Tracking: Over a 12-month period, we compared voluntary turnover rates among high-rated employers versus industry averages, focusing on trained, professional employees who had completed at least one year of tenure.The outcome was consistent and striking across every major sector: employers who both provide strong benefits and communicate them effectively retain significantly more of their trained workforce.
What this means in Practice - Let's put these numbers into context:
• Example 1: Mid-Sized Manufacturing Firm (200 Employees) Suppose a manufacturing company employs 200 workers with an annual average salary of $60,000 and a typical voluntary turnover rate of 20%. That’s 40 employees leaving each year. Replacing and retraining them at a conservative cost of 1.5× salary would total $3.6 million annually. With improved benefits communication and recognition, this firm could reduce its turnover by 44%—down to 22 separations a year—saving over $1.6 million annually in direct and indirect costs.
• Example 2: Growth-Stage Tech Company (50 Employees) A 50-person software firm might see a 25% voluntary turnover rate in a competitive labor market. Replacing those 12–13 employees could cost roughly $25,000 each in lost productivity and recruiting, totaling $300,000 per year. By improving benefits visibility and achieving results similar to the 27% national average reduction, the company could retain an additional 3–4 key employees annually—saving $75,000–$100,000 and preserving critical institutional knowledge.
The data and the dollars tell the same story: when employees both receive and recognize valuable benefits, they stay longer. Employers who treat benefits as a strategic investment—not just a line-item cost—achieve stronger retention, higher engagement, and measurable savings year over year.
Why Communication Matters as Much as the Benefits Themselves
Even the most generous benefits package fails to deliver ROI if employees don’t fully understand it. HR leaders often underestimate how little employees know about their coverage and perks. A recent survey found that:
• 46% of employees cannot accurately describe their health plan’s core benefits.
• Only 35% believe their employer communicates benefits “very effectively.”
• Yet 68% say that well-communicated benefits would increase their loyalty to the company.
Communicating benefits is no longer a once-a-year open enrollment exercise. It’s a year-round engagement effort that connects the dots between employee well-being and company investment.
Turning Benefits into a Competitive Advantage
This is where the Mployer Benefit Recognition Program makes the difference.
Through our Employer Benefit Award and recognition system, Mployer provides third-party validation that your benefits are not only competitive—but also worthy of public recognition.
Participating employers receive:
• An unbiased benefits rating benchmarked against industry peers
• A benefit summary report highlighting your strongest advantages
• Award badges and recognition toolkit providing third-party credibility for your website, social media, and recruitment materials
• Ready-to-use social media templates to promote your benefits on LinkedIn and beyond
• A visually striking award poster to display on-site, sparking employee conversations about the value of your benefits
By leveraging Mployer’s independent credibility, employers transform their benefits from a hidden cost center into a visible differentiator—enhancing recruitment, retention, and brand perception simultaneously.
Retention Starts with Recognition
In an era defined by labor shortages and rising turnover costs, the companies that win will be those that treat employee benefits not as an expense, but as a strategic investment.
The data tells the story: organizations that both offer competitive benefits and communicate them effectively enjoy up to half the turnover rates of their peers. Recognition, transparency, and consistent messaging are key to helping employees see the true value of what you provide.
Your workforce is your most valuable asset. Make sure they know how much they’re worth.
Learn more or see if your company qualifies for an Employer Benefit Award by visiting Mployer.
The modern labor market is defined by choice. In this competitive landscape, the time it takes to fill a critical position—your Time to Fill (TTF)—has become a painful metric. TTF measures the days between when a job is posted and when an offer is accepted, and every extra day costs your business. These are not just abstract numbers; they are tangible losses: decreased productivity from overburdened teams, halted projects, missed revenue targets, and increased recruiting fees (Source 1).
The solution to a high TTF doesn't lie solely in higher base salaries or aggressive sourcing. It lies in your benefits package.
Exceptional benefits are no longer a perk; they are the most efficient talent acquisition strategy to drastically reduce TTF. By treating your benefits package as a competitive differentiator, you can accelerate candidates through the hiring pipeline faster, saving thousands in the process.
The Attraction Phase: Benefits as a Candidate Magnet
In the crowded digital space, a candidate's first interaction with your company is often filtering for what matters most to their life. This is where your benefits package first accelerates the process.
Filter Efficiency and Signal Quality
Candidates actively use benefit offerings as a primary search filter on major job boards. By offering superior benefits, your role gains instant visibility among highly qualified candidates who are explicitly looking for employer support.
Furthermore, a robust benefits package serves as a powerful signal quality indicator. It immediately tells a prospective hire that your company is stable, healthy, and genuinely employee-first. This signals a positive company culture, immediately making your job more attractive than competitors offering standard, minimal coverage.
High-Value Benefits That Reduce Hesitation
Focusing on benefits that address major life stressors can dramatically shorten a candidate’s initial hesitation and application decision. High-perceived-value benefits like generous Paternity and Maternity Leave policies, comprehensive Mental Health Coverage, and practical Flexible Work Arrangements (Hybrid/Remote) instantly elevate your offer. These concrete; life-changing benefits are far more persuasive than a generic promise of a "competitive salary."
The Conversion Phase: Benefits as a Negotiation Accelerator
Once you find a great candidate, the negotiation phase is where Time to Fill often stalls. Strong benefits act as rocket fuel, accelerating the offer acceptance and minimizing costly, time-consuming back-and-forth.
Reducing Offer Time
When an offer is extended, a truly compelling benefits package often results in candidates accepting the first offer. They don't feel the need for lengthy counter-offers focused solely on base salary because the total value is already overwhelming.
A clear, well-articulated benefits statement in the offer letter minimizes follow-up questions, builds trust, and speeds up the decision-making process. The certainty and value provided by the benefits act as an irresistible closing tool.
Framing the Total Compensation Advantage
To fully leverage this advantage, your HR team must be trained to frame the discussion around Total Compensation Value. Show candidates how elements like a 100% 401(k) match, fully-funded health insurance options, or student loan repayment programs can easily surpass a perceived $5,000 difference in base salary.
When candidates are weighing multiple offers, the company that provides the most security, flexibility, and value outside of the paycheck will significantly shorten the candidate's decision time, often securing the top talent before competitors can react.
The Long-Term Ripple Effect on TTF
The benefits ROI doesn't stop once the offer is signed. A strategic benefits package initiates a powerful, long-term ripple effect that fundamentally lowers your overall vacancy rate and future TTF.
Boosted Employee Referrals
Happy employees are your best and fastest source of talent. When staff are genuinely satisfied with their compensation and benefits (especially high-value items like Sabbatical programs or generous PTO), they become powerful advocates. This satisfaction increases the likelihood of employees referring high-quality candidates, who are typically onboarded faster because of the pre-vetted nature of the relationship. Referral hires are consistently the fastest and cheapest source of talent for any organization.
Lower Turnover Rate
Ultimately, a high TTF is often symptomatic of high employee turnover. Strong benefits increase employee retention, meaning you have fewer open jobs to fill in the first place. Since TTF is calculated using both the vacancy rate and the duration of those vacancies, better benefits effectively tackle both components simultaneously.
Quantifying the Benefits: TTF vs. Public Perception
The impact of your benefits is no longer limited to the candidates you interview; it's public. When candidates research a company, they immediately consult public review platforms like Glassdoor. These platforms link candidate sentiment directly to your hiring efficiency.
Mployer’s recent analysis of 300 companies and over 2,000 open roles during a 120-day period revealed a critical connection between public sentiment and hiring speed. We compared organizations with exceptionally high Glassdoor benefit ratings (a key proxy for positive external perception) against those with mid-to-lower ratings. The result was a dramatic acceleration in the hiring funnel: for companies with top-tier benefit ratings, the average Time to Fill (TTF) was just 19 days, compared to 27 days for their counterparts—a significant 32% reduction in hiring time. While this trend was most pronounced among smaller organizations (like local businesses to mid-market firms), large global corporations (including Samsung, Morgan Stanley, and GE) demonstrated the same efficiency gain, affirming the universal impact of a strong benefit-based Employer Value Proposition.
Companies with an "Excellent" or "Above Average" benefit rating (4.0+ stars on Glassdoor, for example) consistently report a Time to Fill that is 15-20% shorter than industry peers with "Average" or "Poor" benefit ratings (Source 2). This efficiency is driven by the immediate credibility and trust built before the candidate even submits an application. A strong public rating reduces the need for the candidate to perform extensive due diligence, further accelerating the initial application phase.
Enhanced Employer Brand
A consistently excellent benefits package strengthens your overall Employer Value Proposition (EVP). This enhanced brand, which is now supported by public data, naturally improves all future recruiting efforts by attracting passive candidates who have been watching your company’s reputation grow.
Conclusion: The Investment That Pays for Itself
The takeaway is clear: investing in market-leading benefits doesn't cost money; it saves money by drastically reducing the tangible costs associated with lengthy vacancies, high recruiting fees, and low productivity.
Benefits act as an accelerant across all three critical phases of hiring: they Attract more candidates, convert them faster, and ensure their Retention, fueling a steady stream of future referral hires.
Action Item: Review your current benefits package through the lens of a prospective, top-tier candidate. Where can you add immediate, high-impact value? The race for talent is won by the company that makes the quickest, most compelling offer—and that starts with great benefits.
To gain a competitive edge and identify your specific TTF acceleration points, benchmark your offerings today. See how your benefits stack up against industry peers through a free, unbiased rating: Visit https://mployeradvisor.com/employer-rating
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