The Remote Work Report

by GitLab: The Future of

Work is Remote
March 2020

1
What's inside?
Introduction

The remote worker

The remote worker and commuting

Relocation

Company and remote work

Demographics

Firmographics

2
Introduction
Created to foster collaboration, innovation and evolution in the
future of work, The 2020 Remote Work Report dissects the state of
distributed work and surfaces key motivators for both employees
and employers.

This year, over 3,000 respondents – across various industries, roles, and geographic locations –
candidly shared their experiences, creating a platform for understanding how remote is changing
society, and how individuals interact with their vocation.

By uncovering best practices and unmet needs, The Remote Work Report has synthesized the
invaluable contributions from thousands of professionals allowing leaders to remove roadblocks
and help teams thrive in a post-office world.

Project background
Objective
Explore the future of remote working in order to inform future marketing and thought leadership
content for GitLab.

Methodology
GitLab surveyed 3,000 adult professionals, aged 21 and older, who work remotely or have the option
to work remotely and are in roles with digital output from January 30, 2020 to February 10, 2020.

Sample
N=3,000
» Adults 21+ years old
» Work remotely or have the option to work remotely (no outsourced)
» Roles that have digital output
» Letters and green/red triangle throughout the report indicate significantly higher/lower at
95% confidence.
» Research conducted by Savanta

3
Key Takeaways
All-Remote is Surging
All-remote is the purest form of remote work, with each team member on a level playing field. 43%
of remote workers feel that it is important to work for a company where all employees are remote.
Currently, more than 1 in 4 respondents belong to an all-remote organization, with no offices,
embracing asynchronous workflows as each employee works in their own native time zone.
An added 12% work all-remote with each employee synched to a company-mandated time zone.

Everyone Can Contribute

The true power of remote teams is unleashed when everyone is empowered to move the organization
forward. 56% of remote workers said that everyone in their company can contribute to process,
values, and company direction, with 50% also defaulting to shared documents and relying on
meetings only as a last resort.

Debunking Remote Work Myths

Remote workers aren’t all traveling nomads. Findings showed 38% saw lack of commute as a top
benefit, with that time instead spent with family (43%), working (35%), resting (36%), and exercising
(34%). Employees find themselves to overall be more productive (52%) and efficient (48%), with 74%
of remote workers agreeing that their company lives by its values. Additionally, unlike traditionally
thought, 52% of remote workers actually travel less.

Accessibility and Opportunity to Grow/Continue Your Career as a Parent

Benefits of working remotely have enabled employees to focus on their families without having to
give up their career. 34% percent found the ability to care for family a top benefit of remote work,
in addition to 53% citing schedule flexibility and 38% saying lack of commute. It was also found that,
in place of commuting, 43% are able to spend more quality time with family — 55% of respondents
having children under 18.

Remote Work Levels the Playing Field

14% of remote workers surveyed have a disability or chronic illness and 83% of those workers were
able to work because of remote work. Remote work levels the playing field: it fosters a better sense
of work/life harmony and creates opportunity for everyone to contribute in the workplace.

Remote is Becoming Second Nature

Nearly 90% of those surveyed are satisfied with existing tools and processes that enable remote team
communications, and feels that their leadership team provides autonomy while working remotely.

4
Remote is Here to Stay
86% of respondents believe remote work is the future. But it’s also the present, as evidenced by
84% of those surveyed saying that they are able to accomplish all of their tasks remotely right now.

Remote is the Ultimate Hiring Advantage

62% of respondents said that they would consider leaving a co-located company for a remote
role. Why? Everyone values remote benefits differently, from reduced anxiety to improved health
to reduced office politics. Said another way, the freedom of remote universally matters for a
remarkably diverse array of reasons.

The Work From Anywhere Opportunity

47% said that managing at-home distractions were a top challenge. It’s time to phase out the phrase
“work from home,” empowering team members to work from anywhere that they’re optimally
productive. Reimbursing for co-working spaces and external offices is a good place to start.

All The Feels

Nearly half of those surveyed consider themselves “Lucky” to work remotely, with Practical, Valued,
Smart, and Proud rounding out the top 5. Fewer than 10% associated with the terms Alone, Tired and
Misunderstood.

Remote ≠ Alone
When in-person interactions are intentional, as is the case in a remote setting, they matter more.
82% of remote workers say their company supports in-person gatherings through events, summits,
meet-ups, and more. Meanwhile, 66% are already connected to remote work communities.

5
The Remote Worker
Department Title
26% IT Networking Security 29% Manager

12% Operations 23% Associate/Assistant

10% Accounting Finance 10% Director

9% Customer Service 8% Senior Manager/Senior Director

9% Management 8% C-Level

8% Administration 21% Other

8% HR
Length of time working remote
11% Other
29% 0-2 years

32% 3-4 years

Frequency of working remote
35% Occasionally 25% 5-9 years

33% Frequently 10% 10-15 years

16% Very often 4% 16+ years

16% All the time

6
Employment status Work from outside home city
83% Full time 20% Never

11% Part time 31% Infrequently (1-2 weeks per year)

6% Small business owners 21% Frequently (3-8 weeks per year)

15% Occasionally (2-6 months per year)

Primary work location
8% Very often (over 50% of the year)
36% Home office
4% Almost all the time (over 90% of the year)
50% Home

7% Co-working space
Residence country
3% Coffee shop 53% United States

2% Library 27% United Kingdom

2% Other 10% Canada

10% Australia

7
Company policy on remote work

37% Hybrid-remote (part of the team works

35% 39% 40% 36%
in-office, part of the team works remotely)
26% 100% remote, each employee works ▲
30% ▼
23% ▼
23% ▼
22%
in their own native time zone
25% Remote work is allowed or tolerated,
▲
21% ▼
28% ▼
28% ▼
34%
but is not the norm or default
12% 100% remote, every employee is synched
▲
15% ▼
10% ▼
8% ▼
8%
to a company-mandated time zone
The green triangle represents significantly higher/lower at 95% confidence.

% of Company Working Remote

10%
22% 32% 30% 26% 32%
100%
1-25%
13% % of companies in which 26% to 50%
76-99% work remote in each country…

24%
51-75% 31%
26-50%

8
Attitudes on remote working % of Remote Workers with
90% I would recommend working Chronic Illness or Disability
remotely to a friend Ability to work remotely have enabled 83%
of remote employees with a chronic illness
87% I am satisfied with tools and processes or disability to contribute to a workplace.
that enable remote team communication
85%
86% My leadership team gives me agency
and autonomy while working remotely

86% Remote work is the future of work

84% I am able to accomplish all of my

tasks remotely
14%
84% My leadership team understands Disable/
what it takes to operate a team remotely Chronic
Illness
62% I would consider leaving my co-located
Ability to work
company for a remote role

9
Benefits of working remote
A B C D
52% Flexible scheduling
53% 50% 56% 50%
38% Lack of commute
32% 43% A 50% AD 39% A
35% Cost savings
33% 33% 36% 43% AB
34% Able to care for family, pets,
aging/sick relatives, etc.
36% 34% 33% 32%
32% Reduced anxiety/stress
34% 32% 28% 28%
26% Improved health (mental, phsyical,
spiritual, etc.)
26% 25% 22% 30% C
22% Freedom to travel/relocate
26% 18% 13% 21% C
20% Able to live where you want to live
23% BC 15% 16% 21% B
18% Reduced office politics
18% 19% 17% 22%

Letters indicate countries that are significantly higher/lower at 95% confidence.

Letters under the %s indicate which country the cell is being compared to.
The green triangle represents significantly higher/lower at 95% confidence.

10
Challenges and feelings
It is no surprise that managing at-home distraction is one of the biggest challenges with
working remotely. Collaboration with colleagues/clients and isolation are second and
third biggest challenges.

47% Managing at-home distractions 49% Lucky

35% Collaborating with colleagues/clients 44% Practical

35% Isolation/loneliness 39% Valued

29% Motivation 37% Smart

28% Taking adequate time away from work 31% Proud

28% Disconnecting from work/burnout 23% Special

24% Networking/fostering career 22% Busy

development
22% Ambitious
1% Other
21% Leader
6% None of the above
15% Trend-setter

The green triangle represents significantly higher/lower

at 95% confidence.
15% Virtual community

10% Alone

5% Tired

5% Misunderstood

11
If remote work is not an option...
Almost half of remote workers would be willing to resume commuting. However, 36%
of them are not and they would search for a new remote role elsewhere. Interestingly,
those who are younger than 55 years old are significantly more likely to search for a new
remote role.

48% Retain your location, but resume Age

commuting
21-38 39-54 55+
36% Search for a new remote role elsewhere
48% 49% 49%
(including working for yourself)
36% 38% 28%
9% Relocate
12% 7% 3%
6% Retire/quit working
4% 5% 18%
1% Other

The green triangle represents significantly higher/lower at 95% confidence.

12
Likelihood to Relocate Reasons...
12% Yes, I have relocated recently 28% Cost of living

9% Yes, I am in the process of relocating 19% Lifestyle change

22% Yes, I am considering relocating 17% Experience a new location

35% No, but I would be open to doing so 14% Be closer to family

22% No, I am not interested in relocating 10% Better schools/opportunity

for your family

Males are significantly more likely 6% Becoming a digital nomad

to have relocated recently or in the
process of relocating. 5% Move to a bucket list "destination"

Females are significantly more likely

to be open to/interested in relocating.

Cost of living is the main driver

for willingness to relocate.

13
Company and remote work
Benefits to the employers Contribution to process, values,
52% Increased productivity and company direction
56% Yes, everyone can contribute
48% Increased efficiency
24% Dependent on the topic it's handled
44% Increased employee morale on a case-by-case basis

43% Improved employee loyalty/retention 17% No, only senior management and
executives make these decisions
27% Hiring the best and brightest

26% Improved carbon footprint Communication scheme

14% Not sure
23% Improved communication
50% Default to shared documents,
23% Less bureaucracy and politics
only use meetings as a last resort
19% Increased inclusivity
35% Default to meetings first
19% Increased diversity
Company reimbursement
18% Improved documentation and process
44% Neither home internet nor coworking
expenses are reimbursed
18% Increased time zone coverage
21% Home internet alone is reimbursed
74% of remote workers agree that their
company lives by its values. 21% Home internet and coworking expenses
are reimbursed

14% Coworking expenses alone are

reimbursed

14
82% of remote workers say their company In-person interaction support
supports in-person interactions through
events, summits, meet-ups, etc.

66% are connected to meaningful remote

82% Yes
work communities (e.g., Slack groups,
message boards, forums, or meet-up
communities).
12% No
43% of remote workers feel it is important 7% Not sure
to work for a company where ALL
employees are remote… Connection to remote
work communities
And this is significantly more important
to remote workers in the US than UK,
Canada and Australia.
66% Yes

25% No
9% No, but plan to do
so in the near future

15
Age distribution Ethnicity* Marital status Caregiver status

24% Single/ 21% Yes

Never married
52% 21-38
76% White
68% Married/
Living with partner 78% No
37% 39-54
4% Asian
12% African-Am.
22% 55+ 2% Other 7% Divorced/
▲
5% Hispanic/Latino Separated/Widowed

Household income Household income Household income Household income

16% Up to $50k 25% Under £30,420 29% Under A$82,436

17% $50k-75k 44% Under CA$84,950

15% $75k-100k

27% $100k-150k 73% Over £30,420 65% Over A$82,436

52% Over CA$84,950
24% $150k+

Family composition Gender split

46% No children
under 18 50% Male

55% Have
49% Female
children under 18

1% Non binary/Gender not listed/Prefer not to answer

16
Industry Number of employees
20% Internet and technology 18% 1-50 employees

15% Healthcare and pharmaceutical 14% 51-200 employees

15% Finance/Insurance/Accounting services 12% 201-500 employees

9% Educational services 16% 501-1,000 employees

7% Professional/Scientific/Technical services 17% 1,001-5,000 employees

7% Government (Local, State, Federal) 8% 5,001-10,000 employees

5% Non-profit organization 4% 10,001-20,000 employees

5% Engineering 10% 20,000+ employees

4% Telecommunications

4% Real estate/Rental/Leasing

3% Advertising/PR/Marketing

2% Travel

2% Legal services

2% Information and publishing

1% Market research

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