Work From Home Is Loved Worldwide, Even If Wall Street Hates It
- New research paper highlights global appeal of remote work
- Workers would take 5% pay cut to keep option of days at home
Workers say they’re more productive at home, would quit their jobs or look elsewhere if they are forced back.
Katia Dmitrieva and
Alexandre Tanzi
As Wall Street firms order employees back to the office, the option of working from home remains more popular than ever all over the world, according to a new study.
More than two years into the pandemic, many companies have eased vaccination, testing and mask rules and reopened their offices full-time. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Jefferies Financial Group Inc. are among US financial giants leading an aggressive push back to in-person work in recent weeks.
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Employees working from home are putting in longer hours than before the pandemic
Enjoying more free time while working from home ? Maybe not. New research conducted during the pandemic shows that home-working employees in the United Kingdom, Austria, Canada and the United States are putting in more hours than before.
Home working has led to a 2.5-hour increase in the average working day in those countries, said NordVPN Teams, a New York-based company that provides virtual private networks (VPNs) to businesses.
The United Kingdom and the Netherlands stand out, with employees “working until 8pm, regularly logging off later than usual to wrap up an extended working day,” it added.
However, employees in Denmark, Belgium and Spain initially recorded a spike in working hours but have since returned to their pre-pandemic timetable, NordVPN Teams said in a statement.
Here's how the pandemic has changed work forever
NordVPN Teams, which works with more than 10,000 companies, looked at the amount of data being sent via servers to calculate employees’ working hours.
The company recorded “no significant drop of business VPN usage at lunch time indicating potential short lunch breaks while working remotely,” it added.
It also noticed a 41% increase in business VPN server traffic on Thanksgiving compared with the average weekend, which the company says “suggests that people are spending their family time working.”
While server data can’t distinguish between work and personal use, NordVPN said it was confident its research reflects longer working hours.
“Technically, somebody could perform personal tasks while logged into their business VPN, but we find employees usually treat work resources carefully and more often than not use them appropriately,” Auste Valikonyte, a spokeswoman for the company, told CNN.
“There are personal VPNs on the market which are typically used for personal purposes.”
90% of employers say working remotely hasn't hurt productivity
Separate research from Wildgoose, a firm that offers virtual team-building experiences for businesses, found that 55% of UK employees say they have been expected to work outside their regular hours while working from home, and 74% have suffered fatigue, stress or burnout during the pandemic.
Wildgoose spoke to employees from 133 UK companies and found 44% said their workload had increased while working from home, and 31% reported an impact on their mental health, such as feeling depressed, anxious or exhausted since shifting to home working during the pandemic.
“While we’ve all grown used to home working as the pandemic has continued, it continues to present huge challenges in maintaining the right work/life balance,” Wildgoose managing director Jonny Edser said in a statement.
“With increased workloads and a worrying trend of working through sickness, people’s jobs are becoming ever more blurred with their home lives at a time when it’s crucial the two remain distinct from each other.”
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15 Work From Home Jobs That Are Hiring Now
The number of remote opportunities continues to increase.
by Kenneth Terrell, AARP , Updated October 24, 2022
Getty Images
En español
1. Administrative assistant
2. Consultant
3. Customer Service Representative
4. data entry clerk, 5. digital marketing specialist, 6. occupational therapist.
7. Proofreader
8. Registered Nurse
9.) Sales Representative
10.) Social Media Specialist
11. Software Developer
12. Speech Pathologist
13. Technical Writer
15. Web Developer
If you’re looking for an opportunity to work remotely, there’s a good chance you can now find a job that fits your needs. According to a recent Hiring Lab study of job postings on Indeed, there were nearly three times more listings for work from home slots in 2022 than there were in 2019.
Older adults could benefit directly from this boom in remote work. Their skills and experience give them the ability to operate effectively and independently outside the office. And the flexibility of working from home offers an appealing pathway toward eventual retirement.
These 15 jobs are some of positions where the demand for remote workers is highest. Clicking on the job title will take you to a page on the AARP Job Board that shows postings for comparable positions. (Not all of these openings offer remote work opportunities.) Median pay data is from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).
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1. Administrative Assistant
Who’s hiring: Advantage Solutions, H&R Block, Marriott International
Average pay: $19.08 per hour
Search Administrative Assistant jobs
With many businesses switching to remote work during the pandemic, “virtual assistants” have seen an explosion in demand recently. In addition to the positions listed on the AARP Job Board, you can also find gig work as an administrative assistant through sites such as Upwork and FlexJobs, though some of these portals charge fees to use their services.
2. Consultant
Who’s hiring: United Health Group, Verizon
Average pay: $48.33 per hour
Search Consultant jobs
In addition to offering remote work opportunities, consulting also can serve as a convenient way to transition into retirement. In addition to the positions posted on the AARP Job Board, you also might consider asking your current or former employers whether they might be interested is hiring you as a consultant for various projects.
Who’s hiring: Gap Inc., United Health Group, Work At Home Vintage Experts
Average pay: $17.75 per hour
Search Customer Service Representative jobs
If you’ve ever called a company for help with a product or service you purchased, then you understand what these jobs involve. You’ll need good people skills to help customers get the solutions they’re seeking. And the hours often are quite flexible to enable phone lines to be staffed across different time zones.
Who’s hiring: Aston Carter, GoShare, YMCA
Average pay: $17.13 per hour
Search Data Entry Clerk jobs
This job is a natural fit for remote work because the responsibilities mostly involve typing information from various documents into a company’s computer system. Accuracy and an eye for detail are essential to doing well in this field.
Who’s hiring: Avis Budget Group, BJ’s Wholesale Club, United Health Group
Average pay: $29.29 per hour
Search Digitial Marketing Specialist jobs
The internet is how many businesses find new customers now, and these specialists are the experts who make those connections happen. Job responsibilities include creating internet advertisements, direct emails, newsletters and other digital tools to keep clients interested in what the company has to offer.
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Who’s hiring: Baylor Scott White Health, BrightSpring Health Services
Average pay : $39.50 per hour
Search Occupational Therapist positions
When people who are recovering from injuries or managing disabilities need assistance learning to perform daily physical activities, occupational therapists lend a helping hand. Many types of health care moved online during the pandemic, and so did the work-from-home opportunities for occupational therapists. Many of these jobs do require state licenses.
7. Proofreader
Who’s hiring: Sodexo, TalentBurst
Average pay: $21.12 per hour
Search Proofreader jobs
If you’re the type of person who notices spelling errors when you’re reading books or articles, this role could be a good fit for you. For example, Sodexo is seeking a proofreader who can make sure that their sales proposals include accurate information and are easy to read.
8. Registered Nurse
Who’s hiring: BrightSpring Health Services, United Health Group
Average pay: $38.23 per hour
Search Registered Nurse jobs
Demand is almost always high for these professionals, with the BLS projecting there will be 194,500 jobs created in this field each year. And, in the era of telehealth, many of these nurses will be able to work from home.
9. Sales Representative
Who’s hiring: Advance Auto Parts, AT&T, United Health Group
Average pay: $14.71 per hour
Search Sales Representative jobs
Why be a traveling salesperson when you often could do the job just as well through Skype or Zoom? The essential skills and experience remain the same: building a client base, convincing them of the product’s value, providing customer service.
10. Social Media Specialist
Who’s hiring: Marriott International, Petco, Teleperformance
Average pay: $27.29 per hour
Search Social Media Specialist jobs
Here’s an opportunity to turn your finesse with making TikTok videos and viral tweets into a successful career. By designing a variety of social media posts, these specialists help businesses build their online personalities.
Who’s hiring: Bright Horizons, General Dynamics Information Technology
Average pay: $55.14 per hour
Search Software Developer jobs
The long-term prospects for this career are promising, with the BLS projecting that demand for these workers will increase by 22 percent over the next seven years. Wages are also high: These information technology experts earn the highest hourly pay on this list.
12. Speech Pathologist
Who’s hiring: BrightSpring Health Services, NYU Langone Health
Average pay: $44.26 per hour
Search Speech Pathologist jobs
Speech pathologists help people with communication disorders understand why they have difficulty pronouncing certain words. Once the problem has been identified, the pathologist then helps those individuals learn how to speak more clearly. Doing the job from home opens opportunities to work with clients in different parts of the nation, but you may need to be licensed in the states where you and your clients live.
13. Technical Writer
Who’s hiring: General Dynamics Information Technology, Templum
Average pay: $33.42 per hour
Search Technical Writer jobs
If you have a talent for understanding how technologies work and explaining that clearly, technical writing is a field with many job opportunities. For example, General Dynamics Information Technology—a defense contractor for the government—is looking for writers to “create and edit easy-to-understand tutorials.”
Who’s hiring: Preply, Varsity Tutors
pay: $18.91 per hour
Search Tutor jobs
Tutoring is one career that translates well to the video-conferencing era. Depending on your area of professional or personal expertise, there could be a remote job in this field that’s a perfect match. Companies are seeking tutors in such fields as biochemistry, business, foreign languages and math.
15. Web Developer
Who’s hiring: General Dynamics Information Technology, Lehigh Valley Health Network,
Average pay: $32.98
Search Web Developer jobs
This is another field where the BLS projects the demand for workers will increase (17,900 additional jobs per year). The work can be challenging because internet technologies are upgraded frequently. For that reason, it’s handy to have a mix of strong technical skills and creative problem-solving ability.
Editor's Note: A previous version of this article was published on April 21, 2021. It has been replaced with a newer version containing updated information.
Kenneth Terrell covers employment, age discrimination, work and jobs, careers and the federal government for AARP. He previously worked for the Education Writers Association and U.S. News & World Report , where he reported on government and politics, business, education, science and technology, and lifestyle news.
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- How older adults can find work-at-home jobs during the pandemic
- Working from home: 5 steps to set boundaries
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Is Homework Necessary for Student Success?
Readers argue both sides, citing Finland, the value of repetition, education inequity and more.
Jay Caspian Kang
The movement to end homework is wrong.
Doing away with it would change the purpose of school itself.
By Jay Caspian Kang
How to Help a Child With Math Anxiety
Approach calculations with curiosity, playfulness and a sense of adventure. Avoid too much homework.
By Malia Wollan
Tell us your homework tips
How does your kid get through it?
By The New York Times
Adolescence
How to help a teen out of a homework hole.
The more students fall behind in the pandemic, the less likely they are to feel that they can catch up.
By Lisa Damour
‘I Can’t Believe I Am Going to Say This, but I Would Rather Be at School’
We asked students, from kindergarten to 12th grade, what it’s like to learn from home. Here’s what they had to say, in their own words — and drawings.
By Henry Dodd
The Coronavirus Exposes Education’s Digital Divide
In China, many rural students lack the connections or hardware to learn remotely. More nations will confront the same reality as the outbreak spreads.
By Raymond Zhong
How to Help Your Child Study
Regardless of a child’s age or challenges, parents can encourage sound homework routines for a successful start to the school year.
By Brian Platzer and Abby Freireich
The Burden of ‘Parent Homework’
This is not about a parent helping with homework. It is work given from teacher to parent, passing directly over a child’s head.
By Karen Barrow
Chinese Girl Finds a Way Out of Tedious Homework: Make a Robot Do It
After a teenager made the news for buying a machine to mimic her handwriting, many on Chinese social media said she should be praised for her initiative.
By Daniel Victor and Tiffany May
Should Kids Get Homework?
Homework gives elementary students a way to practice concepts, but too much can be harmful, experts say.
Effective homework reinforces math, reading, writing or spelling skills, but in a way that's meaningful. (Getty Images)
How much homework students should get has long been a source of debate among parents and educators. In recent years, some districts have even implemented no-homework policies, as students juggle sports, music and other activities after school.
Parents of elementary school students, in particular, have argued that after-school hours should be spent with family or playing outside rather than completing assignments. And there is little research to show that homework improves academic achievement for elementary students.
But some experts say there's value in homework, even for younger students. When done well, it can help students practice core concepts and develop study habits and time management skills. The key to effective homework, they say, is keeping assignments related to classroom learning, and tailoring the amount by age: Many experts suggest no homework for kindergartners, and little to none in first and second grade.
Value of Homework
Homework provides a chance to solidify what is being taught in the classroom that day, week or unit. Practice matters, says Janine Bempechat, clinical professor at Boston University 's Wheelock College of Education & Human Development.
"There really is no other domain of human ability where anybody would say you don't need to practice," she adds. "We have children practicing piano and we have children going to sports practice several days a week after school. You name the domain of ability and practice is in there."
Homework is also the place where schools and families most frequently intersect.
"The children are bringing things from the school into the home," says Paula S. Fass, professor emerita of history at the University of California—Berkeley and the author of "The End of American Childhood." "Before the pandemic, (homework) was the only real sense that parents had to what was going on in schools."
Harris Cooper, professor emeritus of psychology and neuroscience at Duke University and author of "The Battle Over Homework," examined more than 60 research studies on homework between 1987 and 2003 and found that — when designed properly — homework can lead to greater student success. Too much, however, is harmful. And homework has a greater positive effect on students in secondary school (grades 7-12) than those in elementary.
"Every child should be doing homework, but the amount and type that they're doing should be appropriate for their developmental level," he says. "For teachers, it's a balancing act. Doing away with homework completely is not in the best interest of children and families. But overburdening families with homework is also not in the child's or a family's best interest."
Negative Homework Assignments
Not all homework for elementary students involves completing a worksheet. Assignments can be fun, says Cooper, like having students visit educational locations, keep statistics on their favorite sports teams, read for pleasure or even help their parents grocery shop. The point is to show students that activities done outside of school can relate to subjects learned in the classroom.
But assignments that are just busy work, that force students to learn new concepts at home, or that are overly time-consuming can be counterproductive, experts say.
Homework that's just busy work.
Effective homework reinforces math, reading, writing or spelling skills, but in a way that's meaningful, experts say. Assignments that look more like busy work – projects or worksheets that don't require teacher feedback and aren't related to topics learned in the classroom – can be frustrating for students and create burdens for families.
"The mental health piece has definitely played a role here over the last couple of years during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the last thing we want to do is frustrate students with busy work or homework that makes no sense," says Dave Steckler, principal of Red Trail Elementary School in Mandan, North Dakota.
Homework on material that kids haven't learned yet.
With the pressure to cover all topics on standardized tests and limited time during the school day, some teachers assign homework that has not yet been taught in the classroom.
Not only does this create stress, but it also causes equity challenges. Some parents speak languages other than English or work several jobs, and they aren't able to help teach their children new concepts.
" It just becomes agony for both parents and the kids to get through this worksheet, and the goal becomes getting to the bottom of (the) worksheet with answers filled in without any understanding of what any of it matters for," says professor Susan R. Goldman, co-director of the Learning Sciences Research Institute at the University of Illinois—Chicago .
Homework that's overly time-consuming.
The standard homework guideline recommended by the National Parent Teacher Association and the National Education Association is the "10-minute rule" – 10 minutes of nightly homework per grade level. A fourth grader, for instance, would receive a total of 40 minutes of homework per night.
But this does not always happen, especially since not every student learns the same. A 2015 study published in the American Journal of Family Therapy found that primary school children actually received three times the recommended amount of homework — and that family stress increased along with the homework load.
Young children can only remain attentive for short periods, so large amounts of homework, especially lengthy projects, can negatively affect students' views on school. Some individual long-term projects – like having to build a replica city, for example – typically become an assignment for parents rather than students, Fass says.
"It's one thing to assign a project like that in which several kids are working on it together," she adds. "In (that) case, the kids do normally work on it. It's another to send it home to the families, where it becomes a burden and doesn't really accomplish very much."
Private vs. Public Schools
Do private schools assign more homework than public schools? There's little research on the issue, but experts say private school parents may be more accepting of homework, seeing it as a sign of academic rigor.
Of course, not all private schools are the same – some focus on college preparation and traditional academics, while others stress alternative approaches to education.
"I think in the academically oriented private schools, there's more support for homework from parents," says Gerald K. LeTendre, chair of educational administration at Pennsylvania State University—University Park . "I don't know if there's any research to show there's more homework, but it's less of a contentious issue."
How to Address Homework Overload
First, assess if the workload takes as long as it appears. Sometimes children may start working on a homework assignment, wander away and come back later, Cooper says.
"Parents don't see it, but they know that their child has started doing their homework four hours ago and still not done it," he adds. "They don't see that there are those four hours where their child was doing lots of other things. So the homework assignment itself actually is not four hours long. It's the way the child is approaching it."
But if homework is becoming stressful or workload is excessive, experts suggest parents first approach the teacher, followed by a school administrator.
"Many times, we can solve a lot of issues by having conversations," Steckler says, including by "sitting down, talking about the amount of homework, and what's appropriate and not appropriate."
Study Tips for High School Students
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Alexandre Tanzi. As Wall Street firms order employees back to the office, the option of working from home remains more popular than ever all over the world, according to a new study. More than two ...
New research conducted during the pandemic shows that home-working employees in the United Kingdom, Austria, Canada and the United States are putting in more hours than before. Home working has ...
Online work-from-home jobs that pay weekly Whether you're just starting your career or you're a seasoned professional, the remote workforce offers plenty of jobs for you to consider. Thanks to the nature of these jobs, you can even find positions that will likely pay you on a weekly basis.
15 Work From Home Jobs That Are Hiring Now The number of remote opportunities continues to increase by Kenneth Terrell, AARP, Updated October 24, 2022 Getty Images En español 1. Administrative assistant 2. Consultant 3. Customer Service Representative 4. Data Entry Clerk 5. Digital Marketing Specialist 6. Occupational Therapist 7. Proofreader 8.
This means that every job you find on Upwork is one that you can do from home. Companies of all sizes use Upwork, including about 50% of Fortune 500 companies. Whether you want to work with other independent professionals, agencies, small business owners, startups, nonprofits, or large corporations, you can find your ideal client on Upwork.
Chinese Girl Finds a Way Out of Tedious Homework: Make a Robot Do It After a teenager made the news for buying a machine to mimic her handwriting, many on Chinese social media said she should...
Effective homework reinforces math, reading, writing or spelling skills, but in a way that's meaningful, experts say. Assignments that look more like busy work – projects or worksheets that...
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