Remote Work’s Impact on Pay
Five years after the onslaught of the COVID-19 pandemic, the effects of lockdowns and the pivot to remote work are still being felt in the workplace. Data from the recently released C2HR 2024 Compensation Surveys revealed that the pandemic has influenced where employees work and how geography impacts pay.
Remote Work Increases in All Regions
For connectivity providers, which include multiple system operators, satellite cable providers and security companies, the 2024 Compensation Survey revealed that permanent remote work increased in every geographic region (see Figure 1). The Mountain region continued to capture the largest percentage of permanent remote workers — 25% up from 22% in 2023. The West, which had the largest percentage increase — 17% up from 10% in 2023, and the East — 16% up from 14% in 2023, followed as the second and third most popular regions.
Connectivity provider job families with the greatest prevalence of permanent remote work in 2024 were customer care, dispatch and software engineering. In conjunction with the rise of permanent remote work, connectivity providers also saw a decrease in the number of hybrid workers, who split their schedules between the office and home.
Among content creators, which include a mix of cable programmers; television, satellite and radio broadcasters; and digital media, the 2024 Compensation Survey revealed that the Mountain, Midwest and Southwest regions captured the largest percentage of permanent remote workers (see Figure 2). Mountain and Midwest regions both saw 35% permanent remote work with the Southwest attaining 31%. Content job families with the greatest prevalence of permanent remote in 2024 were business intelligence engineering, information technology, advertisement traffic and advertising sales.
Home-Based Work Soars Nationwide
These findings align with the nationwide increase in remote work. The U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey (ACS) reports that in 2023 (the most recent data available), 13.8% of U.S. workers worked from home — more than twice the 5.7% that did so in 2019. In 2019, around 9 million people worked from home in the United States. By 2023, remote workers had escalated to more than 22 million nationwide.
Further, the Bureau of Labor Statistics in an article on its web site reports that four industry groups — professional, scientific, and technical services; information; finance and insurance; and management of companies and enterprises — had over 39 percent of their employees working remotely in 2021 compared with less than 17 percent in 2019. These four major industries still had over 33% of their employees working remotely in 2022.
Geographic Pay Differentials Flatten
Geographic pay differentials have long been prevalent for installation and service
technicians, as the operational footprint of many connectivity companies spans multiple regions. The 2024 Compensation Survey highlighted that the pay differences between most regions have been leveling since the pandemic (see Figure 3).
The West, which historically has been the highest-paid region, experienced a 3% decrease in pay differential since 2020. Similarly, the South, which has traditionally been the lowest-paid region, experienced a 3% increase in its pay differential. Only installation and service technicians in the East saw a differential increase of 1% since 2020.
“While geographic differentials remain firmly in place, we have seen them decrease moderately over the past several years,” noted Hali Croner, President and CEO of The Croner Company , which has been conducting the C2HR Compensation Surveys for more than 20 years.
“We believe that some of the change is due to relocation of employees from higher-paying labor markets to lower-paying labor markets during the pandemic years when pay was not immediately changed.”
Croner added, “Early in the pandemic, all non-essential workers had remote status, but not all companies immediately adjusted pay to their geographic zones because return-to-office decisions were impossible to make.”
She continued, “When those salaries were not adjusted, pay remained higher in the geographic zones, potentially reducing differentials. Since the pandemic, as companies have clarified policies about remote work, differential practices now appear to be more systematically applied.”
Digital Pays More Than Media
C2HR’s 2024 Compensation Surveys also revealed that compensation at digital companies continued to surpass media companies in several job categories (see Figure 4). Most of the premium resulted from the deep penetration of equity (or long-term incentives [LTIs]) prevalent among digital companies. When examining total direct compensation (TDC), which includes base pay, bonus and LTI, data science roles accrued a 61% premium, software engineering a 46% premium and editorial a 66% premium. Media companies paid only one job category more — producing.
While not a direct correlation, one can observe that many positions that receive a digital compensation premium also rank highest nationwide for permanent remote work. For example, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that the top three industry groups nationwide for remote work are: 1) computer systems design and related services; 2) data processing, internet publishing and other information services; and 3) publishing industries, except internet (includes software).
In 2022, the most recent data available, the percentage of remote workers by detailed industry group was: 57.8% for computer system design, 49.9% for data processing and 51.1% for publishing. When preparing competitive compensation offers to candidates in these roles, companies must consider both the digital pay premium and the demand for remote work.
2025 Compensation Surveys Now Open
C2HR invites eligible industry employers to participate in the 2025 Compensation Surveys. Data for the 2025 surveys is due this month. Survey results are delivered in September via a secure online data portal that allows for customizable Excel spreadsheets and presentation-ready reports for every position. Survey participants receive tools for analysis, including paired comparison and title-matched reports. For executive compensation data, participants also receive a regression analysis by revenue and subscribers.
Given the highly confidential survey data, the results from any given company cannot be seen. Only summary information pertaining to all participants is available. This reporting approach follows Safe Harbor guidelines and encourages participation without fear of exposing proprietary information to the public. C2HR has commissioned The Croner Company to collect and analyze the data and identify industry trends and benchmarks.
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