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How many people consistently work at coffee shops instead of an office?
Hello! Thanks for your question about coffee shops and telecommuting! Below you will find a deep dive of my research / findings along with all the details for how I came to this answer. I personally loved researching this as I love coffee shops and everything espresso related!
TELECOMMUTING FACTS
According to my research, there are no hard facts or exact numbers/percentages of employees who work at coffee shops vs. an office. Most often when people work from coffee shops, they are telecommuting. As stated in a recent study done by Global Workplace Analytics, since 2005 the number of work at home employees has jumped by 103%. It boils down to approximately 3.7 million people (2.5% of workforce) who regularly telecommute at least 50% of the time.
Although the workforce only grew by 1.8%, telecommuters increased by 6.5%. Many employers are recognizing their employee mobility and are beginning to allow some amount of telecommuting. At this point in time between 20-25% of the workforce has at least some telecommuting.
So in theory, approximately 3.7 million+ people have the option of working from a coffee shop vs. the office. When asked whether or not telecommuters are as productive as traditional employees, a Gallup poll found Americans said 56% are just as productive as those who work traditionally, 24% say telecommuters have increased productivity and only 18% believe telecommuters are less productive than their in-office counterparts.
According to Flexjobs, approximately 4.21% of employed Americans telecommute 100% of the time. Approximately 148 million Americans are actively employed/working. These two facts translate into 6.23 million, 100% telecommuters. The National Coffee Drinking Trends 2010 report from the National Coffee Association found 54% of Americans drink coffee every day. If you apply the same percentage to telecommuters, 3.36 million 100% telecommuters consume coffee daily and are therefore more likely to work from a coffee shop.
WORKING FROM A COFFEE SHOP PROS & CONS
The level of distraction may be less than the alternative of working from home. In a 2012 study published in the Journal of Consumer Research (titled: Is Noise Always Bad? Exploring the Effects of Ambient Noise on Creative Cognition), the researchers found the following, "when ambient noise was set to 70 decibels — coincidentally, the same noise level found at an average coffee shop — participants performed about 35% better than those who worked in quieter settings." However once the level reached 85 decibels (same level of outside noise in a car) the work efficiency and productivity plummeted sharply.
In a different study by the publication, Applied Cognitive Psychology, the researchers reached the conclusion silence is best for concentrations, focus and short-term memory recall. Multiple studies have found visual distractions, often found at coffee shops, have a negative effect on productivity.
Although these studies make compelling arguments, the productivity of an individual relies on their strengths and alternative work environment. For example, if an individual has a particularly loud neighbor it may be to their advantage to work from a coffee shop. It depends on the person and their preferences.
CONCLUSION
Through my research, I have concluded over 3.7 million individuals have the option of working from an alternative work environment such as a coffee shop at least half the time. Since 2.5% of the working population represents approximately 3.7 millions people, we may assume {(100/2.5)*3,700,000} 148 million Americans are actively employed/working. Considering the Gallup poll of 20-25% telecommuting at least part of the time, one may assume 29.6-37 million Americans have the option of working from coffee shops in some capacity. By taking an average (3.7, 29.6, 37), approximately 23.4 million people may work from coffee shops.
As a more specific estimate allows, 3.36 million 100% telecommuters consume coffee on a daily basis. They are more likely to consistently work from a coffee shop, since they never work from an office.
Once again, I thoroughly enjoyed answering your inquiry! Thanks for using Wonder! Please let us know if we can help with anything else!