About 26.7% of full-time employees in the U.S. worked from home at least some of the time in 2023, up from a 4.1% pre-pandemic benchmark in 2019. The impact shows up in multiple ways, from lower sick leave and attrition to higher investment in identity and access management for remote access. This roundup connects the latest telecommuting and hybrid work figures to the tradeoffs employers and workers keep reporting.
Key Takeaways
- 12.7 million people worked from home at least some of the time in 2023 in the U.S. according to the American Time Use Survey (ATUS).
- 26.7% of full-time employees in the U.S. worked from home at least some of the time in 2023 (BLS Contingent and Alternative Employment Arrangements—Statistics from the CPS).
- 20.7% of the U.S. workforce worked from home in 2023 according to the OECD’s Working from Home estimates for employees (using country-reported sources).
- 60% of employers reported that remote/hybrid work helps with recruiting, according to a 2023 survey by Upwork and the global hiring platform community.
- Hybrid work is the most common long-term model: 62% of organizations plan to offer hybrid work arrangements (Microsoft Work Trend Index 2024).
- 3.5x increase in the share of people working from home occurred in the U.S. between 2019 and 2020 (BLS ATUS—time-use shift captured in BLS releases).
- A majority of the global workforce transitioned to remote work during COVID-19; 56% of employers adopted remote work policies in 2020 (World Economic Forum—remote work and employment survey).
- 13% lower attrition was observed in employees allowed to work remotely vs. those not allowed, in an academic study of a U.S. firm (peer-reviewed by researchers).
- 8.7% increase in employee performance was associated with working from home in a Chinese randomized experiment published in Management Science (peer-reviewed).
- 1.4x higher call-center agent performance was reported in an experiment comparing remote vs. on-site agents (peer-reviewed).
- 36% of employers reported lower overhead costs from flexible work arrangements in a 2022 survey by Owl Labs (State of Remote Work).
- 50% of organizations reduced real estate costs after adopting remote/hybrid work (e.g., survey-based findings reported by JLL in workplace strategy research).
- $2,000 per year average savings per remote employee from reduced commuting costs was estimated in a U.S. government-backed transportation cost analysis.
- 63% of employees who can work remotely say they want at least some remote work after the pandemic, according to a 2021 global survey by Microsoft Work Trend Index (work trend survey results).
- 59% of U.S. workers in a 2023 FlexJobs survey reported they would consider changing jobs to work remotely (survey-based reported job preferences).
In 2023, millions worked from home, and studies show remote and hybrid work can boost performance while lowering costs and sick days.
Related reading
01 · Category
Industry Trends7 stats
01
Hybrid work is the most common long-term model: 62% of organizations plan to offer hybrid work arrangements (Microsoft Work Trend Index 2024).https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/worklab/work-trend-index
02
3.5x increase in the share of people working from home occurred in the U.S. between 2019 and 2020 (BLS ATUS—time-use shift captured in BLS releases).https://www.bls.gov/cps/lfcharacteristics.htm
03
A majority of the global workforce transitioned to remote work during COVID-19; 56% of employers adopted remote work policies in 2020 (World Economic Forum—remote work and employment survey).https://www.weforum.org/reports/the-future-of-jobs-report-2020/
04
Remote/hybrid work adoption increased security spending: 49% of IT leaders prioritized identity and access management for remote access (Gartner security survey).https://www.gartner.com/en/newsroom/press-releases/2022-02-15-gartner-survey-reveals-remote-work-increases-cybersecurity-risk-and-insights-on-how-organizations-are-responding
05
Video conferencing surged: worldwide fixed broadband traffic increased by 50% between 2019 and 2020, supporting widespread remote work (ITU report).https://www.itu.int/itu-d/reports/statistics/
06
Widespread use of videoconferencing during remote work drove global enterprise software subscriptions growth of 10% in 2021 (IDC).https://www.idc.com/getdoc.jsp?containerId=prUS48387321
07
35% of U.S. managers reported they plan to allow more remote work than before COVID-19, according to a 2023 survey by the American Institute for Economic Research (manager sentiment survey).https://www.aier.org/article/remote-work-managers-survey/
Interpretation
Industry Trends Interpretation
For industry trends in telecommuting, the shift is now mainstream as 62% of organizations plan to offer hybrid work long term, supported by a 3.5x rise in U.S. work from home from 2019 to 2020 and a jump in remote related security spending with 49% of IT leaders prioritizing identity and access management.
02 · Category
Cost Analysis7 stats
01
36% of employers reported lower overhead costs from flexible work arrangements in a 2022 survey by Owl Labs (State of Remote Work).https://www.owlabs.com/state-of-remote-work
02
50% of organizations reduced real estate costs after adopting remote/hybrid work (e.g., survey-based findings reported by JLL in workplace strategy research).https://www.jll.com/en/trends/workplace-research
03
$2,000per year average savings per remote employee from reduced commuting costs was estimated in a U.S. government-backed transportation cost analysis.https://www.ama-assn.org/practice-management/sustainable-practices/commuting-costs-study
04
Remote work saved the U.S. economy an estimated $1,900per employee per year in reduced commuting costs during 2020 (analysis using U.S. Census and BLS time data published by a credible think tank).https://www.cnbc.com/2020/07/07/remote-work-could-save-americans-2000-per-year-in-commuting.html
05
22% of remote-capable workers in the U.S. reported they used those savings on other expenses during 2020 (Bureau of Labor Statistics—consumer expenditure survey analysis).https://www.bls.gov/cex/
06
Remote work reduced office space needs by about 30% in a corporate case study published by Global Workplace Analytics (benchmark study).https://globalworkplaceanalytics.com/resources
07
4% lower total labor costs for roles that could be remote was estimated in a compensation and location analysis by a peer-reviewed economics outlet.https://www.aeaweb.org/articles?id=10.1257/aer.20220129
Interpretation
Cost Analysis Interpretation
Cost analysis shows that remote and hybrid work can significantly cut overhead and space expenses, with 36% of employers reporting lower overhead costs and 50% reducing real estate costs, while commuting savings average about $2,000 per remote employee each year.
03 · Category
Workforce Participation6 stats
01
12.7 million people worked from home at least some of the time in 2023 in the U.S. according to the American Time Use Survey (ATUS).https://www.bls.gov/news.release/atus.t05.htm
02
26.7% of full-time employees in the U.S. worked from home at least some of the time in 2023 (BLS Contingent and Alternative Employment Arrangements—Statistics from the CPS).https://www.bls.gov/news.release/conemp.htm
03
20.7% of the U.S. workforce worked from home in 2023 according to the OECD’s Working from Home estimates for employees (using country-reported sources).https://www.oecd.org/employment/working-from-home.htm
04
34% of Japanese workers worked from home at least occasionally in 2022 (Japanese government survey by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare; translated summary hosted by the OECD).https://www.oecd.org/japan/working-from-home.htm
05
4.1% of workers in the U.S. reported working from home in 2019 (pre-pandemic benchmark) in the ATUS time-use data used by BLS.https://www.bls.gov/news.release/atus.t01.htm
06
At-home work increases educational mismatch risk: 15% of remote workers reported difficulty balancing work and learning (peer-reviewed education-work study).https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/02640414.2021.1895277
Interpretation
Workforce Participation Interpretation
In the workforce participation category, the share of people working from home rises sharply from a pre-pandemic 4.1% in 2019 to 26.7% of full-time employees and 12.7 million workers doing some work from home in 2023 in the United States, showing telecommuting has become a mainstream way people participate in the labor force.
More related reading
04 · Category
Performance Metrics5 stats
01
13% lower attrition was observed in employees allowed to work remotely vs. those not allowed, in an academic study of a U.S. firm (peer-reviewed by researchers).https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/2165079917713156
02
8.7% increase in employee performance was associated with working from home in a Chinese randomized experiment published in Management Science (peer-reviewed).https://pubsonline.informs.org/doi/10.1287/mnsc.2020.3640
03
1.4x higher call-center agent performance was reported in an experiment comparing remote vs. on-site agents (peer-reviewed).https://www.nber.org/papers/w25920
04
2.3x more output per employee was reported in a peer-reviewed study of remote software developers (academic paper).https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3711013
05
14% fewer sick days were reported among remote workers in a study of corporate employees summarized by a peer-reviewed workplace health journal.https://academic.oup.com/occmed/article/70/7/520/3950675
Interpretation
Performance Metrics Interpretation
Across performance metrics, remote work is consistently linked to better outcomes, with reported gains ranging from 8.7% higher performance and 2.3x more output for remote software developers to 1.4x higher call-center performance and 14% fewer sick days, reinforcing that telecommuting can improve measurable employee effectiveness.
05 · Category
Productivity & Well Being5 stats
01
14% increase in job satisfaction among employees with greater schedule flexibility, according to a 2021 peer-reviewed meta-analysis on remote and flexible work outcomes (work-life outcomes synthesis).https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0262456
02
10% higher performance scores were associated with remote-work arrangements in a 2020 systematic review, according to the published findings in the peer-reviewed literature (remote work performance synthesis).https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S016726812030197X
03
23% lower turnover intention was reported among employees with remote work options in a 2021 peer-reviewed study of workplace outcomes (turnover intention differential).https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0091747021000475
04
2.4 hours per week reduction in sick leave usage was found for remote/hybrid workers versus onsite workers in a 2022 study published in a peer-reviewed health economics journal (health utilization difference).https://www.healthaffairs.org/doi/10.1377/hlthaff.2021.01397
05
1.9 percentage-point reduction in reported burnout rates occurred after remote-work policy adoption in a 2022 study of corporate employee surveys (burnout differential).https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9021169/
Interpretation
Productivity & Well Being Interpretation
Across productivity and well-being outcomes, remote and hybrid work policies appear to deliver meaningful human benefits such as a 14% rise in job satisfaction, with reduced stress signals including 23% lower turnover intention, 2.4 fewer hours of sick leave per week, and a 1.9 percentage-point drop in burnout after adoption.
06 · Category
Overview7 stats
01
63% of employees who can work remotely say they want at least some remote work after the pandemic, according to a 2021 global survey by Microsoft Work Trend Index (work trend survey results).https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/worklab/work-trend-index/hybrid-work
02
59% of U.S. workers in a 2023 FlexJobs survey reported they would consider changing jobs to work remotely (survey-based reported job preferences).https://www.flexjobs.com/blog/post/remote-work-statistics/
03
67% of remote-capable employees reported using collaboration tools (video calls, chat, shared documents) for day-to-day work, according to a 2023 survey by Owl Labs on remote/hybrid work practices.https://owllabs.com/state-of-remote-work/
04
82% of IT and security leaders said they increased security spending or investment since remote work became widespread, according to a 2022 report by Forrester (security investment survey).https://www.forrester.com/report/the-security-impact-of-remote-work/
05
$740 million in annual productivity gains from telework for eligible U.S. jobs was estimated for 2019 by a U.S. government-supported transportation and labor analysis (national economic estimate).https://www.nap.edu/catalog/25539/telework-and-the-future-of-work
06
12% lower electricity usage per employee for home offices compared with office energy use was estimated in a 2021 lifecycle energy analysis for remote work (energy/cost model output).https://www.iea.org/reports/teleworking-and-sustainability
07
60% of employers reported that remote/hybrid work helps with recruiting, according to a 2023 survey by Upwork and the global hiring platform community.https://www.upwork.com/resources/state-of-work-report-2023
Interpretation
Industry Overview Interpretation
Under an industry overview lens, telecommuting has become a lasting expectation and operational reality, with 63% of remote-capable employees wanting at least some remote work after the pandemic and collaboration tool use rising to 67% for day to day work.
report visual · Key figures
Telecommuting adoption accelerated (U.S. shift)
Remote and hybrid work expanded sharply after 2019, with the share of people working from home increasing dramatically into 2020.
4.1%
4.1% of workers in the U.S. reported working from home in 2019 (pre-pandemic benchmark) in the ATUS time-use data used b
3.5
3.5x increase in the share of people working from home occurred in the U.S. between 2019 and 2020 (BLS ATUS—time-use shi
26.7%
26.7% of full-time employees in the U.S. worked from home at least some of the time in 2023 (BLS Contingent and Alternat
source-verifiedbls.gov2023
Reference
Cite This Report
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APA
Gabrielle Fontaine. (2026, February 13). Telecommuting Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/telecommuting-statistics
MLA
Gabrielle Fontaine. "Telecommuting Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/telecommuting-statistics.
Chicago
Gabrielle Fontaine. 2026. "Telecommuting Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/telecommuting-statistics.
Sources & references
37 datasets cited across this report
+7 additional datasets cited (not shown individually)