No one wants to go back to the office—or at least, not five days a week.
More than 90% of U.S. employees currently doing some remote work want the ability to stay virtual after the pandemic, and almost 40% would look for another job if their employer doesn’t offer the option, according to data from Gallup.
For those hunting for a job that will let them stay remote, job-search site FlexJobs on Monday released its ninth annual list of the companies that posted the most remote jobs over the past year. After nearly two years of pandemic-driven remote work, the list includes a record number of new companies and a substantial variety of titles, both signs the shift to hiring for remote-based jobs is here to stay.
“When you look at 2020 and the first year of the pandemic, the list didn’t change all that much in terms of the types of jobs being represented,” says Brie Reynolds, career services manager for FlexJobs, which scans job boards and company sites for postings advertising remote-based jobs or those with flexible schedules.
In 2021, for instance, the top three fields represented in FlexJobs’ analysis, which examines a database of remote jobs posted last year by approximately 57,000 companies, were for roles in computers and information technology, accounting and finance and marketing. But in 2019, neither marketing nor accounting and finance jobs made it into the top five. “What we’re seeing now at the end of 2021 is a broader approach to remote work that employers have taken on … [and] a broader representation of high quality professional jobs, not just IT and customer service. It’s a change in the employer’s mindset.”
Thirty-five of the top 100 companies, including HubSpot, Mayo Clinic and Stitch Fix, were new in 2021, compared with just 29 new companies on the list in 2019, the year before the pandemic. FlexJobs saw a 12% increase in the number of remote job listings in 2021, compared with 2020. And while the majority of remote postings were for experienced and manager-level roles, the percentage of remote-based entry-level jobs was also higher in 2021 than the year prior.
Many of the employers at the top of the list—including No. 1 BroadPath, which provides remote outsourcing services—hire a large number of virtual call center workers, customer service agents and others for outsourcing positions. But these employers are also hiring for other jobs that are remotely based—BroadPath’s website is currently promoting a “work at home” director of sales and payroll coordinator, for instance—as are a range of other listmakers, such as Varsity Tutors, Dell Technologies and CVS Health.
Kate Lister, the president of Global Workplace Analytics, a research and consulting firm, says there’s so much interest in remote work that employers are increasingly promoting those arrangements in their job postings. “It’s in their best interest to shout it loudly at the highest rooftops—it needs to be featured in their recruiting,” she says.
While there continues to be some resistance to remote work from more traditionally minded managers, Lister says, more are coming around due to the intensity of labor shortages. It is no longer a question of “if,” but one of “how much” or how many days people can work from home. “Every company I’m working with has done a complete 180 on their attitudes toward remote work,” Lister says.
Just eight companies have made the list each year since its inception: Anthem, CVS Health, Dell Technologies, Kelly, Parexel, SAP, Stride and UnitedHealth Group. The full list of FlexJobs’ top companies for remote jobs is below.
