These 20 companies around the world are on a hiring spree for work-from-home jobs

Published Mon, Jan 13 2020 8:01 AM ESTUpdated Tue, Jan 21 2020 10:26 AM EST

Jennifer Liu

@malininaolgaphoto | Twenty20

The potential to work for a company from anywhere in the world has never been greater.

According to a report from the Society for Human Resources Management, 69% of organizations allowed employees to work from home at least some of the time in 2019 — more than three times the share of companies who allowed telecommuting 20 years ago.

Many remote workers are highly compensated (nearly a quarter earn $100,000 or more) and they tend to be happier in their jobs. A combination of factors, including improved worker satisfaction, greater productivity and more efficient use of company resources, are some reasons why the ability to work from just about anywhere is one of the biggest workplace trends to watch for in 2020 and beyond.

To determine which employers are leading the charge in this space, FlexJobs identified the best companies to work for to land a work-from-home job today.

The job listing site analyzed its database of over 54,000 companies and identified the ones that posted the highest number of remote jobs in 2019, suggesting they'll continue to hire a large amount of remote workers in the new year. Jobs on the site can be advertised as being a either part-time or full-time remote work arrangement.

The companies that are hiring for remote workers, from tech to education

The No. 1 company hiring for remote workers is Appen, an Australian technology company that helps organizations develop machine learning and artificial intelligence products. While four of the top 20 companies on the list are international (China, India and Sweden are represented), the majority of companies are based in the U.S. and are largely concentrated in areas around Arizona (such as No. 4 Liveops) and California (such as No. 10 Williams-Sonoma).

Many roles within health care, computer and IT organizations can be done remotely, and these fields are well represented among the top companies filling remote jobs. These are also some of the largest and fastest-growing industries in the U.S., where demand and pay are strong, especially in today's tight labor market.

Education companies also grew their remote workforce in the past year: Two e-learning companies, VIPKid and EF Education First, cracked the top 10.

"The most notable change we've seen over the past year is not so much the growth in the sheer volume of remote job listings, but the growth in the variety of remote job titles these companies are seeking to hire," said Sara Sutton, founder and CEO of FlexJobs, in a statement to CNBC Make It. "Companies are expanding the range of professional positions they're allowing to work from home."

According to FlexJobs, the most common job titles for remote work are accountant, customer service representative, project manager, nurse and writer.

More companies are able to hire internationally

Global companies and those headquartered in high cost-of-living areas may be able to expand their talent pool by considering applicants who live in other parts of the country, and even the world.

"The cost of living in many major U.S. cities is high and can be prohibitive," Michelle Armer, chief people officer at job site CareerBuilder, told CNBC Make It. "Broadly, we're seeing people move away from urban hubs in favor of less popular areas where they can get more space for less."

People who do their jobs from home, freelance or travel for work are increasingly leaving cities such as Los Angeles and San Francisco and taking their families — and jobs — to places including Denver and Boise, Idaho, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Here are the top 20 companies, hiring hundreds of remote workers each.