Andrew Bernstein moved from Pennsylvania to live in Boulder to work for California-based True Communications.
Boulder is beautiful and provides access to mountains, Bernstein said. He also is able to stay in contact with the bike industry he serves with his marketing acumen.
“My job is not tied to a desk. It’s very comfortable to be working from home,” he said.
Bernstein is part of an ever-growing group of workers who are able to work from whereever they want. Colorado has the highest percentage of home-based workers with the bulk centered in Boulder, Centennial and Highlands Ranch, according to a recent survey by online insurance agency Haven Life.
In Boulder more than 13 percent of adults work from home, according to the Haven Life survey. About 78.2 percent of them have a bachelor’s degree or higher, and more than 17 percent of adults work in professional, scientific and technical services. The median income for this group of remote workers is $66,524, according to the survey.
Technological advancements have made this possible, allowing employers to offer remote work as a perk to hire the best available talent, and saving individuals from the daily grind of commuting to work, said Mike Gutman, director of marketing for FlexJobs. The company, headquartered in Boulder, offers flexible and remote jobs. According to a 2017 FlexJobs report on telecommuting in the United States, about 3.9 million U.S. employees, or 2.9 percent of the total U.S. workforce, work from home at least half of the time, up from 1.8 million in 2005, a 115 percent increase. The report also states the average remote worker is 46 or older, with at least a bachelor’s degree and earns a higher median salary than an in-office worker. Both women and men are equally represented among remote workers in the U.S., according to the data.
A FlexJobs report based on U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey data from 2016, suggests 14.9 percent of workers in Boulder are remote employees, a 55 percent increase from 2008, when the telecommuting population was 9.6 percent, pegging it as the No. 1 telecommuting population in the country. (The latest data from Haven Life lists Boulder in the third spot, behind Carlsbad, Calif., and Frisco, Texas.)
Broomfield has 9.4 percent remote workers, followed by Denver at 8.2 percent, according of FlexJobs.
Remote workers help companies save money, Gutman said. They don’t have to pay for real estate, office equipment or overhead costs, he said. But it is essential for businesses to realize that telecommuting needs to be strategically managed. They have to realize potential employees need to be trained and supported so they can work efficiently from home, collaborating with others and taking care of data security.
For employees, remote work is great stress reducer, FlexJobs’ Gutman said. At times, employees, who are looking to strike a balance between work and home are ready to take a pay cut, ranging from 10 to 20 percent, for the privilege of working from home, he said.
“I appreciate the fact I don’t have to travel to an office,” said Bernstein, whose fiancée also works from home. He said the flexibility of remote work helps him take care of things around his home, but it also pushes him to work longer hours.
He said he doesn’t miss the human interaction by working remotely, but his fiancée does. “She’s a journalist. She misses being with her co-workers,” Bernstein said.
Pratik Joshi: 303-684-5310, pjoshi@dailycamera.com
