Alone from home: transfer to remote work contributes to a third increase in salaries

The "premium" for remote employment in Russia reaches 25-35%, it is noted in the calculations of the Higher School of Economics (Izvestia has it). Experts explain the increase in remote salaries by the fact that productivity increases, companies' spending on office and equipment is reduced (this money is used to increase payments), as well as by the fact that, as a rule, the most valuable employees are transferred to this mode. This situation is most typical for marketing, PR and IT, experts say. At the same time, for men, the "premium" for removal is one and a half times higher.

Which employees find it easier to switch to remote

In Russia, remote employees receive higher salaries than those who work from the office. The "premium" for removal reaches 25-35% — such calculations are given in an article by Rostislav Kapelyushnikov and Daria Zinchinko from the National Research University Higher School of Economics. At the same time, it turns out to be about one and a half times more for men than for women. Also, the higher the education and qualifications of employees, the stronger their propensity for remote employment.

According to the VTsIOM survey, 13% of Russians work mostly remotely. Another 12% are in hybrid mode. At the same time, according to hh.ru In January – September 2025, employers posted 745,000 remote vacancies. This is 17% more than in 2024.

Specialists in IT, analytics, and consulting are offered the highest salaries remotely. A data scientist and a DevOps engineer (who are launching new features of the service) topped the list with median incomes of 251.4 and 250.9 thousand rubles, respectively. Further, according to the data hh.ru , there are real estate agent (212.9 thousand), system analyst (201 thousand), manager or strategy consultant (200 thousand), broker (197.5 thousand), programmer (174.6 thousand), system engineer (150 thousand), network engineer (148.1 thousand) and BI-analyst (147.9 thousand).

Median income is the level at which half of the employees have a lower income and the other half have a higher income. That is, it is the middle, not the arithmetic mean.

Due to the popularity of flexible working hours, remote and project work in Russia, the average length of the working day has also decreased. According to Rosstat, this happened for the first time in three years. In January–March 2025, it was 7 hours and 32 minutes, four minutes less than in the same period of 2024.

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In 2026, 50-60% of Russian companies will switch to remote work, giving employees the opportunity not to visit the office, Olga Epifanova, chairman of the Social Democratic Union of Women of Russia, predicted earlier.

According to the Labor Code, the remote nature of work is not a reason to increase or decrease wages, the press service of the Ministry of Labor told Izvestia. At the same time, the company is obliged to provide an employee who does not work in the office with everything necessary for work, the department recalled. If he decides to use his own or rented equipment, then he has the right to receive compensation, the Ministry of Labor concluded.

The structure of those employed remotely consists mainly of highly qualified employees: developers, analysts, software testers and others, said Vladimir Smirnov, Acting General Director of the All—Russian Research Institute of Labor. This may explain the difference in salaries, he said.

Why do remote workers earn more in Russia

With the development of remote management, the employer gets access to a wider pool of talent and is ready to pay for the right specialist, regardless of his location, explained Olga Kopylova, head of Ventra Executive Search.

— Another factor is increased productivity and efficiency. Employees do not waste time on the road, do not stand in traffic jams, and are not distracted by smoke breaks in the office. In this regard, they can work more efficiently. This affects specific measurable results. High productivity is rewarded with additional payments (for example, bonuses)," she noted.

Some companies include the costs of electricity, heating, the Internet, and workplace organization (desk, chair, and appliances), which employees incur while working at home, in their salaries or add compensation, Olga Kopylova noted.

A remote location for the company saves costs, as it does not need to provide a workplace for an employee, agreed Veronika Yelikova, Director of Human Resources Management at T1 Innotech. The released funds can be used to raise salaries.

— Candidates who are able to work effectively remotely and achieve KPIs often become more valuable to companies. This trend is most pronounced among marketing and PR professionals," said Inna Alekseeva, CEO of PR Partner communications agency.

According to the agency Prnews.io . 65% of PR specialists who switched to freelance or remote work, including in international companies, noted an increase in their income by at least 20-30%.

In general, earnings growth during the transition to remote is typical primarily for highly qualified specialists in such areas as IT, marketing, finance, consulting, HR, design and sales, added Olga Kopylova from Ventra Executive Search.

Even taking into account the partial return to office work, there is a clear understanding: competition for the best specialists is impossible without distance, Inna Alekseeva believes. Remote employment, according to the expert, has moved from the category of a temporary measure to the category of advantage. Today, it represents an important strategic asset.

In addition, people have extra time, which allows an employee to work part-time with several employers, said Dina Safiullina, HR Director at NPF Gazfond Retirement Savings. This is not a direct way to receive increased pay for remote work, but an opportunity to raise total earnings through remote work, she explained.