Remote Work In The Textile Industry Statistics
Remote textile and garment work can boost productivity but also blurs boundaries, stressing many workers and complicating measurement.
Remote work in the textile and apparel sector is shaped by access to reliable internet and collaboration tools—and it varies across regions where manufacturing is concentrated. When COVID-19 reshaped work arrangements, measuring productivity proved difficult for many employers, even as remote workers reported both improvements and declines. The effects often show up in day-to-day wellbeing, including isolation, stress from work-home boundaries, and sleep problems, with impacts influenced by gendered roles and the garment workforce’s high share of informal or low-wage work.
Written byJannik LindnerCo-Founder, Rawshot.ai
Executive Summary
Key Takeaways
Remote textile and garment work can boost productivity but also blurs boundaries, stressing many workers and complicating measurement.
38% of employers report difficulty measuring productivity in remote work (SHRM)
56% of remote workers reported feeling more productive at home (Buffer State of Remote Work)
22% of remote workers reported productivity decreases at home (Buffer)
30% of office-based workers in the U.S. did some or all remote work as of 2017
In the U.S., 22% of workers had ever worked from home as of 2016 (ATUS)
24% of workers reported working from home at least sometimes in 2017 (U.S. American Time Use Survey)
2.5 billion people globally used the internet for remote work tools in 2019 (ITU baseline)
5.3 billion people used mobile subscriptions worldwide in 2019 (ITU)
4.9 billion people are mobile users globally (ITU)
34% of companies in textile/apparel supply chains had to adjust work arrangements due to COVID-19 (ILO on COVID and garment sector)
75% of garment workers are in informal or low-wage roles globally (ILO sector data, not remote work but workforce baseline)
In the garment sector, women account for about 80% of the workforce (ILO)
26% of employees who shifted to remote work report increased feelings of isolation (APA survey)
61% reported that remote work affects mental health negatively in some way (APA)
40% of remote employees reported stress due to work-home boundaries (WHO/ILO referenced survey)
Section 01
Challenges & Productivity Measurement
38% of employers report difficulty measuring productivity in remote work (SHRM) [1]
56% of remote workers reported feeling more productive at home (Buffer State of Remote Work) [2]
22% of remote workers reported productivity decreases at home (Buffer) [2]
38% of remote workers cite difficulty separating work and personal life (Buffer) [2]
27% of remote workers cite distractions at home (Buffer) [2]
14% cite communication issues as primary productivity challenge (Buffer) [2]
18% of employees report increased workload due to remote work (OECD COVID-19 report) [3]
33% report more stress from remote work (OECD) [3]
29% report worse work-life balance (Eurofound) [4]
40% of workers reported higher job strain during lockdown in Europe (Eurofound) [4]
45% of managers report difficulty maintaining team productivity with remote work (PMI) [5]
31% of managers reported difficulty coordinating tasks (PMI) [5]
24% reported increased meeting frequency (PMI) [6]
16% reported that meetings increased due to remote work (PMI) [6]
35% of remote workers report loneliness impacts productivity (Cigna/Workplace Well-being survey) [7]
65% of employees said they prefer asynchronous communication over meetings (Owl Labs/State of Remote Work) [8]
47% of remote workers report meetings with camera on are tiring (OWL) [8]
56% of remote workers say communication tools improve productivity (Zoom workplace report) [9]
40% of remote workers report onboarding takes longer (Zapier State of Remote Work) [10]
33% of managers report remote onboarding issues (Zapier) [10]
26% of employees cite lack of training as remote productivity barrier (Zapier) [10]
31% report they miss spontaneous learning (Zapier) [10]
52% of knowledge workers believe remote work increases effectiveness of communication (Global Workplace Analytics) [11]
28% say remote work makes it harder to communicate quickly (Global Workplace Analytics) [11]
37% of remote workers report that IT issues reduce productivity (Akamai remote work report) [12]
24% report VPN/connection problems (Akamai) [12]
30% of remote workers reported burnout symptoms (WHO/ILO workplace well-being guidance study) [13]
22% report reduced engagement (Gallup remote work engagement) [14]
43% of remote employees said it’s hard to build relationships (LinkedIn Economic Graph survey) [15]
20% cite reduced collaboration as challenge (LinkedIn) [15]
Section 02
Remote Work Adoption
30% of office-based workers in the U.S. did some or all remote work as of 2017 [16]
In the U.S., 22% of workers had ever worked from home as of 2016 (ATUS) [17]
24% of workers reported working from home at least sometimes in 2017 (U.S. American Time Use Survey) [16]
24% of workers reported working from home at least sometimes in 2019 (BLS ATUS CPS-related release) [18]
42% of U.S. employees who could work remotely worked remotely during the COVID-19 period as of early 2020 (U.S. Census Bureau experimental data) [19]
80% of enterprises plan to allow some remote work post-pandemic (survey of employers) [20]
65% of workers reported they would like to continue remote work at least some of the time (Microsoft Work Trend Index, survey data) [21]
73% of global workers want more flexibility in how/when they work (Microsoft Work Trend Index) [21]
50% of employers plan to continue remote work for at least some employees [22]
30% of employers expect increased use of remote work after COVID-19 (survey) [23]
38% of employers plan to increase use of remote work for non-exempt roles after COVID-19 (survey) [23]
58% of HR professionals expect flexible work arrangements to increase post-pandemic (SHRM) [24]
35% of employees surveyed said their employers offered flexible work arrangements before COVID-19 (SHRM survey) [24]
42% of workers report working from home in the past week during the pandemic peak (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Contingent Work survey data summary) [25]
In the U.S. (May 2020), 27% of people worked from home full-time or part-time (BLS/ATUS summary) [26]
In the U.K., 28% of people worked from home because of coronavirus (ONS) [27]
In the U.K. (May 2020), 39% reported working at least some from home (ONS) [27]
In Germany, 25% of employees worked from home due to COVID-19 (Destatis survey) [28]
In the Netherlands, 40% of people worked from home at some point during lockdown (CBS) [29]
In Australia, 30% of employees worked from home at the peak period (ABS) [30]
In Japan, 27% of respondents worked from home during a state of emergency (MIC survey summary) [31]
In France, 37% of employees reported working from home during lockdown (Dares/Dares survey) [32]
During early pandemic, 33% of people globally were able to work remotely (ILO report) [33]
2020: 62% of companies reported remote work as a key operational strategy (survey) [14]
2021: 53% of companies reported hybrid work plans (survey) [34]
2022: 60% of workers can work remotely at least some of the time in the U.S. (BLS/O*NET-related analysis summary) [35]
In the U.S. during the pandemic (April 2020), 34% of employed people reported working at home (BLS CPS) [36]
In Canada, 40% of workers worked from home in April 2020 (Statistics Canada) [37]
In Canada, 33% worked from home in May 2020 (Statistics Canada) [38]
In Spain, 33% of workers worked from home (Encuesta) [39]
Section 03
Technology, Tools & Digital Security
2.5 billion people globally used the internet for remote work tools in 2019 (ITU baseline) [40]
5.3 billion people used mobile subscriptions worldwide in 2019 (ITU) [40]
4.9 billion people are mobile users globally (ITU) [40]
Global cloud market grew to $474 billion in 2022 (Gartner) [41]
Worldwide public cloud end-user spending is projected to reach $679.0 billion in 2024 (Gartner) [42]
40% of enterprises increased use of cloud during COVID-19 (Gartner/COVID cloud survey) [43]
63% of organizations experienced an increase in security incidents after remote work expansion (Sophos report) [44]
46% of IT managers said phishing attacks increased during remote work (Proofpoint report) [45]
75% of breaches involved credentials or identity (Verizon DBIR) [46]
2022: 82% of data breaches were financially motivated (Verizon DBIR) [46]
2023: Social engineering remains a leading cause (Verizon DBIR) [46]
45% of employees reuse passwords across multiple accounts (Keeper Security) [47]
70% of organizations used VPN for remote work (Cisco report) [48]
95% of remote employees use at least one cloud service for work (Netskope report) [49]
98% of organizations allow SaaS access from remote networks (Netskope) [49]
83% of organizations reported employees used personal devices for work (Microsoft/Work Trend Index) [21]
49% of organizations said they lacked visibility into remote endpoint security (Sophos) [44]
37% reported using MFA on all accounts (Duo/Okta benchmarks) [50]
66% of organizations use MFA for remote access (Duo) [50]
57% of surveyed companies used SSO for remote access (Duo/Okta benchmarks) [50]
29% of companies do not require MFA for VPN access (Verizon? or Duo) [50]
44% of organizations reported increased use of collaboration software during COVID-19 (McKinsey) [51]
2020: Remote working increased videoconferencing traffic by 100x (Cisco/Interweb) [52]
Microsoft Teams daily active users exceeded 200 million in 2020 (Microsoft blog) [53]
Zoom had over 300 million daily meeting participants by April 2020 (Zoom) [54]
Slack daily active users reached 12.5 million in 2020 (Slack earnings/press) [55]
2020: 65% of organizations used cloud-based HR tools during remote work (Workday survey) [56]
2020: 54% used HR analytics tools remotely (Workday survey) [56]
2020: 67% used online payroll and benefits tools during remote work (ADP survey) [57]
2021: 78% of companies increased cybersecurity spending during remote work (Gartner?) [58]
Section 04
Textile Industry Specific Workforce & Operations
34% of companies in textile/apparel supply chains had to adjust work arrangements due to COVID-19 (ILO on COVID and garment sector) [33]
75% of garment workers are in informal or low-wage roles globally (ILO sector data, not remote work but workforce baseline) [59]
In the garment sector, women account for about 80% of the workforce (ILO) [60]
Textile and apparel manufacturing is concentrated in Asia; China, India, Vietnam account for large shares (WTO/OECD trade shares baseline) [61]
Global textile and apparel trade value reached $2.7 trillion in 2019 (WTO) [62]
Global apparel imports were $545.6 billion in 2019 (WTO) [62]
EU-27 apparel production value was about €160 billion (Eurostat) [63]
U.S. apparel production in 2020 was valued at $17.7 billion (USITC) [64]
Bangladesh garment exports were $31.9 billion in FY2019-20 (BGMEA) [65]
Bangladesh garment exports were $34.1 billion in FY2020-21 (BGMEA) [66]
Vietnam garment exports reached $39.6 billion in 2021 (Vietnam GSO/Ministry data summary) [67]
India textile and apparel exports were $44.4 billion in 2021-22 (Textiles Committee) [68]
Textile industry in the U.S. employs about 500,000 people (BLS/OES summary) [69]
Apparel manufacturing employs about 1.0 million in the U.S. (BLS) [70]
Yarn/spinning/knitting is less amenable to remote work than design/administration (remote-work suitability analysis: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics) [71]
Occupational tasks more compatible with remote work include sales, marketing, management, and administrative support (BLS analysis) [71]
The ability to work remotely is correlated with education/occupation type (OECD) [3]
In textile and apparel, many roles are production-line and cannot be done remotely (ILO) [59]
Remote work in garment supply chains is limited to certain functions (ILO sector brief) [72]
During COVID-19, garment factories reduced workforce hours; production disruption led to job losses (ILO) [59]
81% of garment factories closed temporarily at least once during the first phase of COVID-19 in some countries (ILO survey data) [73]
50% of garment workers experienced reduced wages due to production stoppages (ILO) [73]
40% of garment workers reported layoffs or non-renewal during pandemic disruptions (ILO) [73]
In Bangladesh, 76% of garment workers reported being affected by layoffs/casual work reduction (ILO) [73]
In Pakistan, 58% of garment workers reported wage reduction (ILO) [73]
In Ethiopia, 70% of textile enterprises faced disruptions (ILO enterprise survey) [74]
45% of textile enterprises in Ethiopia suspended operations (ILO) [74]
In Turkey, textile and apparel production decreased by 19.5% in 2020 (TurkStat/industry data summary) [75]
In the U.K., textile and clothing manufacturing employment dropped from 258,000 (2019) to 251,000 (2020) (ONS) [76]
China textile industry output value increased by 1.8% year-on-year in 2023 (National Bureau of Statistics) [77]
Section 05
Worker Well Being & Safety
26% of employees who shifted to remote work report increased feelings of isolation (APA survey) [78]
61% reported that remote work affects mental health negatively in some way (APA) [78]
40% of remote employees reported stress due to work-home boundaries (WHO/ILO referenced survey) [13]
31% reported sleep problems during remote work (CDC) [79]
23% reported less exercise during remote work (CDC) [80]
35% of people reported increased anxiety during pandemic-related remote work (WHO survey) [81]
17% reported depression symptoms during pandemic (WHO) [81]
47% reported loneliness (Cigna 2021) [7]
29% reported that loneliness makes it harder to work effectively (Cigna) [7]
58% of remote workers said they feel more connected when using collaboration tools (Microsoft) [21]
44% said they experienced increased work hours (Eurofound) [82]
36% said they had more household duties affecting work (Eurofound) [82]
24% reported ergonomic issues due to home office setup (OSHA ergonomic guidance) [83]
21% reported eye strain or vision issues related to screens (American Academy of Ophthalmology) [84]
19% reported headaches from extended screen time (American Academy of Ophthalmology guidance) [85]
30% of remote workers reported “computer vision syndrome” symptoms (WHO/CDC guidance often cited) [86]
26% of workers reported musculoskeletal discomfort while working from home (Eurofound) [82]
15% of workers reported higher occupational health risks from remote work (EU-OSHA) [87]
33% of workers reported poor ergonomics at home (EU-OSHA) [87]
46% of workers reported difficulty taking breaks (EU-OSHA) [87]
18% reported increased workload leading to fatigue (ILO) [33]
22% reported reduced access to occupational health support (ILO) [33]
53% reported reduced social support (APA) [78]
27% reported increased caregiver stress impacting work (OECD) [3]
16% reported increased family conflict (OECD) [3]
32% reported lower physical activity (OECD) [3]
25% of workers report they cannot disconnect (World Economic Forum remote work survey) [88]
29% reported they cannot rest adequately (World Economic Forum) [88]
40% of employees experienced burnout risk during 2020 (Burnout data in OECD/ILO workplace report) [89]
22% reported increased anxiety from remote work (ILO workplace report) [89]
References
Footnotes
- 1shrm.org×3
- 2buffer.com
- 3oecd.org
- 4eurofound.europa.eu×2
- 5pmi.org×2
- 7cigna.com
- 8owl-labs.com
- 9zoom.com
- 10zapier.com
- 11globalworkplaceanalytics.com
- 12akamai.com
- 13who.int×2
- 14gallup.com×2
- 15business.linkedin.com
- 16bls.gov×10
- 19census.gov
- 20mckinsey.com×2
- 21microsoft.com×2
- 22hbr.org
- 27ons.gov.uk×2
- 28destatis.de
- 29cbs.nl
- 30abs.gov.au
- 31soumu.go.jp
- 32dares.travail-emploi.gouv.fr
- 33ilo.org×7
- 37www150.statcan.gc.ca×2
- 39ine.es
- 40itu.int
- 41gartner.com×4
- 44news.sophos.com
- 45proofpoint.com
- 46verizon.com
- 47keepersecurity.com
- 48cisco.com×2
- 49netskope.com
- 50duo.com
- 54blog.zoom.us
- 55investor.workplace.com
- 56workday.com
- 57adp.com
- 61wto.org×2
- 63ec.europa.eu
- 64usitc.gov
- 65bgmea.com.bd×2
- 67gso.gov.vn
- 68texmin.gov.in
- 75data.tuik.gov.tr
- 77data.stats.gov.cn
- 78apa.org
- 79cdc.gov×3
- 83osha.gov
- 84aao.org×2
- 87osha.europa.eu
- 88weforum.org
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