In August 2025, approximately 14 percent of workers in Great Britain worked from home exclusively, with a further 22 percent working from home and travelling to work, while 41 percent only travelled to work. During this time period, the share of people only travelling to work was highest in March 2022, at 60 percent of respondents, with the peak for only working from home occurring in June 2020. In general, hybrid working has become steadily more popular than fully remote working, with the highest share of people hybrid working in November 2023, when 31 percent of people advising they were hybrid working. What type of workers are most likely to work from home? In 2020, over half of people working in the agriculture sector mainly worked from home, which was the highest share among UK industry sectors at that time. While this industry was one of the most accessible for mainly working at home, just six percent of workers in the accommodation and food services sector mainly did this, the lowest of any sector. In the same year, men were slightly more likely to mainly work from home than women, while the most common age group for mainly working from home was those aged 75 and over, at 45.4 percent. Over a long-term period, the share of people primarily home working has grown from 11.1 percent in 1998, to approximately 17.4 percent in 2020. Growth of Flexible working in the UK According to a survey conducted in 2023, working from home either on a regular, or ad hoc basis was the most common type of flexible working arrangement offered by organizations in the UK, at 62 percent of respondents. Other popular flexible working arrangements include the ability to work flexible hours, work part-time, or take career breaks. Since 2013, for example, the number of employees in the UK that can work flextime has increased from 3.2 million, to around 4.2 million by 2024. When asked why flexible work was important to them, most UK workers said that it supported a better work-life balance, with 41 percent expressing that it made their commute to work more manageable.

In 2022, around 71 percent of employees working remotely worldwide stated that they would like to have a fully remote work structure, while 20 percent of respondents preferred a work structure that was still hybrid but remote-first. Only six percent of respondents stated that they prefer a hybrid and office occasional work structure.

In 2023, around 82 percent of global digital industry leaders who had a work-in-office policy in their companies reported that their in-office policy was working extremely or quite well. In contrast, only 17 percent of digital leaders reported that their in-office policy was working quite poorly.

In 2022, around 24 percent of respondents who were working remotely worldwide stated that they were working less compared to the previous year, while around 44 percent of respondents reported that they were working more.

As of January 2024, several major technology companies, including Google, Amazon, Meta, and Apple, have implemented return-to-office mandates requiring employees to be in the office at least three days per week. Interestingly, Zoom, a company that played a significant role in facilitating work-from-home activities during the COVID-19 pandemic, has announced a return-to-office mandate of its own requiring employees to work from the office twice per week. In contrast, X (formerly Twitter) adopted an office-only policy for their employees since Elon Musk acquired Twitter in 2022, requiring all X employees to work from the office the entire work week.

In 2022, around 71 percent of employees working remotely worldwide stated that their company was planning to permanently allow some amount of remote work, while only about eight percent of respondents reported the opposite.

In 2023, 72 percent of global respondents indicated being very concerned or somewhat concerned about the online security risks of employees working remotely, down from nearly 80 percent in 2022. Similarly, six percent of respondents reported feeling not at all concerned about cyber threats posed by remote work, up from only three percent the previous year.

Global tech companies have been gradually transitioning their employees back to the office. A 2023 survey of digital industry leaders worldwide revealed a trend among larger organizations towards a three-day office work week. As of 2023, 48 percent of respondents from large organizations reported that their company required them to work in the office three days per week. In contrast, only 39 percent and 35 percent of respondents from medium and small tech organizations, respectively, reported the same.

Before the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, 17 percent of U.S. employees worked from home 5 days or more per week, a share that increased to 44 percent during the pandemic. The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the remote working trend, as quarantines and lockdowns made commuting and working in an office close to impossible for millions around the world. Remote work, also called telework or working from home (WFH), provided a solution, with employees performing their roles away from the office supported by specialized technology, eliminating the commute to an office to remain connected with colleagues and clients. What enables working from home?

To enable remote work, employees rely on a remote work arrangements that enable hybrid work and make it safe during the COVID-19 pandemic. Technology supporting remote work including laptops saw a surge in demand, video conferencing companies such as Zoom jumped in value, and employers had to consider new communication techniques and resources. Is remote work the future of work?

The response to COVID-19 has demonstrated that hybrid work models are not necessarily an impediment to productivity. For this reason, there is a general consensus that different remote work models will persist post-COVID-19. Many employers see benefits to flexible working arrangements, including positive results on employee wellness surveys, and potentially reducing office space. Many employees also plan on working from home more often, with 25 percent of respondents to a recent survey expecting remote work as a benefit of employment. As a result, it is of utmost importance to acknowledge any issues that may arise in this context to empower a hybrid workforce and ensure a smooth transition to more flexible work models.

In 2023, more than three-quarters of respondents among IT professionals working for large companies reported that the identity and access management (IAM) processes were managed directly by their organization. This share fell to around 69 percent for smaller firms with less than 1,000 employees. Overall, businesses of any size preferred to manage their IAM processes directly rather than through a contracted service provider.

According to a survey conducted in 2020 in Australia about digital consumer trends during the COVID-19 pandemic, 45 percent of respondents stated that they were able to work more flexibly at home in lockdown. The survey was conducted in June and July, when most of the country was coming out of their first COVID-19 lockdown.

Not being able to see signs employees are demotivated was the major concern of company leadership when it came to hybrid work in 2023, with more than 55 percent of survey respondents reporting the same. Similarly, enabling effective collaboration, and concerns regarding maintaining an organizational culture were among the top concerns of organizations' leadership regarding hybrid work

According to at least half of employees surveyed, websites visited and apps used were the most suspected surveillance activities within American companies in 2023. Other surveillance activities suspected by employees in the U.S. were websites visited and recording of meetings.

In 2023, 52 percent of employers globally reported that their main reason for asking their employees to return to the office was to build or maintain culture or connection. Meanwhile, 24 percent and 12 percent of employees said reported the same as their second and third reasons, respectively. Overall, around 45 percent of employers also cited real estate investments as one of the reasons they asked their employees to return to the office.

A survey conducted in 2022 found that members of Generation Z were the least likely to say they were just as productive when working from home versus working in the office. In contrast, nearly three times the number of Baby Boomers said they were just as productive working from home versus the office.

In 2023, broadening the available talent pool was the main reason for companies embracing remote-first or fully remote work for employees, with 41 percent of respondents reporting this as their first reason and 28 percent reporting it as their second reason.

According to a survey conducted in 2020 in Australia about digital consumer trends during the COVID-19 pandemic, 27 percent of respondents stated that they were more socially isolated when working from home in lockdown. The survey was conducted in June and July, when most of the country was coming out of their first COVID-19 lockdown.

Following the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic in 2020 and the transition to remote work, the volume of internet searches surrounding employee surveillance companies increased worldwide. In March 2023, the volume of internet searches for the software company DeskTime increased by 232 percent compared to March 2020.

The most important benefit of working remotely in the U.S. post-COVID-19 in 2021 was that people could be with their family. At the same time, for 79 percent of respondents, being allowed to work from home meant that their employer cared more about them.

According to a survey conducted in Australia, around 53.9 women and around 46.3 men experienced a mental health issue such as stress or anxiety while working from home due to the COVID pandemic in 2020. The second leading cause of mental health issues by working from home was working in isolation.