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Why Remote Work Can’t Be Stopped

The proportion of Americans who only worked remotely rose to 20% in 2016 from 15% in 2012, Gallup surveys indicate

By

Christopher Mims

Christopher Mims

The Wall Street Journal

Biography Christopher Mims
@mims
christophermims
christopher.mims@wsj.com

June 4, 2017 8:00 a.m. ET

When Dell recently surveyed its 110,000 employees about their work habits, it discovered something surprising: While only 17% of Dell’s employees were formally authorized to work wherever they prefer, 58% were already working remotely at least one day a week. That’s good news, says Steve Price, chief human resources officer at Dell. In 2013, the company had said it wanted half its employees to work remotely for at least part of their week… by 2020.

In contrast, International Business Machines recently gave thousands of...

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