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Published: Oct 13, 2021 4 min read
Woman On Teleconference At Home
Money; Getty Images

Nowadays, you can make a lot of money working from home.

Remote jobs rose to nearly 15% of all job listings that pay $80,000 or more in the U.S. and Canada in the third quarter of this year, according to research from high-paying jobs listing site Ladders. Those high-salary jobs made up just about 13% in the previous quarter — and only 4% in early 2020.

The finance and insurance industries have had the largest increase in the number of high-paying remote jobs, followed by the legal and accounting, retail and consumer goods, aerospace and media industries.

“The commute from your bedroom is here to stay,” said Ladders CEO Marc Cenedella in a press release accompanying the findings.

The pandemic has significantly altered what it means to "go to work" — and it looks like the changes are here to stay. When COVID-19 hit the U.S. in March of 2020, many companies had to quickly adjust to having their employees working at home, finding new ways to communicate and attempting to stay connected despite offices closing. Workers suddenly had to make their homes into their own offices. The transition had speed bumps and headaches, but now that nearly 57% of the U.S. population is vaccinated and businesses have been welcoming employees back to the office, many workers have gotten used to the perks of remote work.

The research from Ladders is the latest evidence that companies have to be flexible to attract and retain workers, especially as employers are desperate to fill jobs. More than 40% of employees said they would seek a new job or quit if they were told they had to return to an office full time, according to recent data from monthly online surveys of 5,000 U.S. employees conducted by the University of Chicago, Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México and Stanford University.

Of course, not everyone is able to work from home. There is a large disparity between the number of Hispanic and Black workers and white workers who can work remotely. One in six Hispanic workers and one in five Black workers are able to telework due to COVID-19 compared to one in four white workers, according to a June report from the Economic Policy Institute. And low-wage workers have the least flexibility.

But in some cases, workplaces are being more flexible and there is more opportunity for candidates to have conversations upfront about what environment they work best in, Alison Sullivan, a career trends expert at the employer review site Glassdoor, previously told Money.

“It’s a little bit of a clean slate,” Sullivan said.

Because employers have had to broaden their scope to keep up with hiring, she suggests that if you want to try to work remotely at a job that doesn't specify that option, you should reach out to the recruiter or hiring manager and ask if they would consider a remote candidate.

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