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How to Speak to the New Remote Work Audience: What They Really Care About

Tara Parachuk | January 22, 2021

bespectacled, bearded man sits at laptop on conference call

It was almost a year ago when a vast portion of the global workforce was suddenly forced to transition from working in the office to working remotely as part of restrictive measures to limit the spread of the coronavirus. 

The shift happened abruptly, and nobody really knew how long it would last for. However, professionals employed in certain industries, such as voice actors, have been able to continue to carry out their work duties from the safety of home. 

In this article

  1. Here’s What the Remote Work Audience Wants to Know
  2. What is remote work?
  3. What is the difference between remote work and work from home?
  4. What are the pros and cons of working from home? 
  5. Is remote work here to stay? 
  6. What will happen to the office as remote work becomes more common? 
  7. What kinds of jobs can you do from home? 
  8. Which companies offer remote work? 
  9. How can I work remotely and travel? 
  10. How does remote work affect productivity? 
  11. Is working from home less stressful? 
  12. Speaking to the New Remote Work Audience 

As weeks turned into months and remote work grew more normalized, some companies, such as Twitter and Shopify, decided to allow their employees to work from home indefinitely. Other companies, such as HubSpot, have opted for a hybrid model that allows their employees to work both from the office and home. 

When a large amount of the workforce is stationed at home and people are no longer traveling to the office for the ‘9 to 5,’ media consumption habits have also changed substantially. More people than ever are turning to streaming content instead of going to the movies, and making purchases by way of ecommerce as opposed to shopping in brick and mortar stores. 

Audio consumption has also skyrocketed, causing many to propose that we’re definitively living in the new golden age of audio. Over 60% of all remote workers listen to music at least one hour per day, resulting in the rise of ads served via streaming platforms and smart speakers

So, the tricky challenge this new normal poses to advertisers is: how does one speak to the new remote work audience? 

As a marketer, it’s important to define your ideal consumer by pinpointing your target audience. To understand how audiences feel about remote work, we pulled some of the top online searches about remote work. We included the questions below, and answered them ourselves.

By looking at the most-searched queries related to remote work, you can really get a sense of what these new remote workers care about. With this list, you’ll ideally be able to gain a stronger sense of how to address the remote work audience in your advertising efforts.

Here’s What the Remote Work Audience Wants to Know

What is remote work?

Remote work is a bit of a catch-all term that encapsulates any work that is done outside of the traditional office. So, working from home classifies as remote work, and so does clocking in for the day from a café or coworking space. As long as you’re not in the office, you’re working remotely. 

What is the difference between remote work and work from home?

COVID-19 has caused a lot of the workforce to work from home on a temporary basis, primarily as a safety measure. However, only a limited amount of those working from home due to the pandemic are full-time remote workers who will continue to work remotely once the dust has settled. Although working from home is technically remote work, for some it is currently a short-term solution that they would not consider full-blown remote work. 

What are the pros and cons of working from home? 

There are numerous advantages and disadvantages to conducting your entire workday from home. The method of work that you personally prefer will ultimately boil down to your unique circumstances and how you work best. 

Some pros of working from home include the privilege to forego a long commute, which could mean sleeping in a little longer and enjoying calmer mornings. You may also find it easier to hone in on specific assignments without any office distractions getting in the way. 

Many people prefer working from home because it enables them to achieve a better and more personalized work-life balance. On a broader scale, staying home can also have a positive impact on the environment. Ditching the daily commute to the office can reduce an individual’s carbon footprint. 

However, there may be some cons to working from home as well. Your household may present more opportunities for distraction than the office does, like family or roommates sticking their head into your workspace to chat even when you’re busy. You may also miss those water cooler conversations with your work colleagues. 

Another disadvantage of remote work that some employees experience is the inability to mentally check out of work for the day. When there isn’t any real physical separation between work and home, you may find it harder to unwind and relax when the work day is done.

Is remote work here to stay? 

In this video essay produced by The Economist, the publication addresses what it calls “the uncomfortable truth about offices: that they are expensive and inefficient.”

If you happen to echo this sentiment, then you may be completely supportive of remote work sticking around for good. Remote work also partly harkens back to an era before the Industrial Revolution, when workers were paid based on how much they produced, as opposed to how much time they spent in the office. If companies discover that the remote work model is helping them save money, and their employees are also happy and productive, then it’s hard to argue that remote work shouldn’t be an enduring option. 

What will happen to the office as remote work becomes more common? 

The Economist columnist Philip Coggan similarly theorizes that, as the work-from-home revolution continues to take hold, offices will become less of fixed spaces that workers are bound to, and “more of a collaborative area, more of a games room, where you go in to try and shoot the breeze with your colleagues and come up with something different.” 

What kinds of jobs can you do from home? 

When companies are hiring employees to work from home, the talent pool expands considerably. Remote work provides opportunities to workers who might otherwise be unable to contend for certain positions due to geographic location. With remote work growing more common, workers may no longer need to live in an expensive city where the company they want to work for is headquartered. This is called location independence

Many freelancers work from home. The amount of global freelancers saw remarkable growth throughout 2020, and the boom is sure to continue to rise. Working from home also provides freelancers with the opportunity to pursue fulfilling creative work. According to our 2021 Trends Report, the types of creative freelancers that are currently the most sought after are audio editors, video producers, voice actors, graphic designers, writers and editors, and programmers and tech professionals. 

Which companies offer remote work? 

A number of technological companies have decided to offer remote work as an option to their employees for an indefinite amount of time. But it’s not just big tech that is making this leap. As FlexJobs writes, “the computer/IT and healthcare industries continue to offer the most remote jobs, while the financial industry has also enjoyed sustained growth of remote job opportunities.” 

Some other professional fields that are thriving in the remote working world include sales, customer service, and marketing. In fact, marketing was the fastest-growing field for remote work in 2020, closely trailed by administrative, HR and recruiting, and accounting and finance jobs. 

Take a look at this list of the top 100 companies with remote jobs in 2021

How can I work remotely and travel? 

When you work remotely and don’t feel confined to any particular setting, you may be attracted to the idea of trading your home office for a faraway locale. People who travel the world while working remotely are called digital nomads

The hard part about traveling while working is recognizing the difference between working remotely in a new environment and taking a full-fledged vacation. Even if you’re working somewhere other than your home office, you still have to be disciplined enough to follow a schedule and clock in when need be. Working remotely and traveling can invite a whole lot of distractions, but if you’re a focused worker with a knack for finding the strongest WiFi signals, then this may be an enormously appealing option for you (once the pandemic has completely subsided, of course). 

How does remote work affect productivity? 

Many workers claim that the option to work remotely significantly boosts their levels of productivity. In fact, this FlexJobs survey “found that 65% of professionals think they would be more productive working remotely than in a traditional office.” 

Some professionals have found that they are most productive when they work remotely on a full-time basis, while others prefer having the option to work from home on occasion—say, for assignments where they need to hunker down and limit all distractions—and work from the office for the rest of the time. 

Several companies have witnessed their employees’ sustained productivity while working from home, resulting in them deciding to offer employees the freedom to choose whether to work from home or not, even after the pandemic is resolved and it is safe to return to the office. 

Is working from home less stressful? 

Like so many other questions related to remote work, the answer to this question depends entirely on an individual’s circumstances and preferred style of working. That being said, there are a number of components of remote work that professionals cite as alleviating the everyday stress of working in an office. 

For example, the ability to skip the daily commute has enabled some workers to have more relaxed mornings, with better sleeps and healthier breakfasts that they prepare at home. Workers are also able to mold their work environment so that it suits their specific preferences. When you work from home, you can listen to your favorite music or podcasts. You can also take a moment to stretch or practice breathing when you feel the need to, or even step outside for a walk on your lunch break. 

On the other hand, some remote workers report struggling to separate work from leisure, which could lead to overworking and increased stress. If you work remotely all the time, you may have to find ways to differentiate the work day and personal time. 

Some remote workers have adopted the habit of taking a fake commute every morning as part of their daily routine. A fake commute involves leaving the house and replicating a regular commute to work, whether that’s a half-hour walk or a bus ride. The only difference with the fake commute is that it leads straight back to home. While this exercise may seem superfluous, some people have found that it really gives them the much-needed time to decompress and retain a sense of normalcy that was lost when they were forced to begin working from home. 

Speaking to the New Remote Work Audience 

Your audience is now working remotely, meaning that your strategy for reaching them must adapt to the times. 

Producing digital ads and internet videos is a beneficial way to communicate with your target demographic, as well as weaving your way into the channels through which they are engaging with content all day long—whether that’s listening to podcasts or the radio while working, or playing video games in the evening.  

If you’re in need of a creative freelancer to make your next advertising campaign come to life, then you’ve come to the right place. Sign up for a Voices account to match with top-quality remote working professionals who can launch your next project to the remote work audience. 

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