Work from home isn’t experienced the same way everywhere. Adoption and access differ by job type, with 57% of remote-capable workers in the US able to work from home. Experiences also vary: surveys link remote work to higher productivity and different work-life balance outcomes. The page further traces how usage shifted across OECD countries after the pandemic, and how remote work relates to office energy use and household internet demand.
Key Takeaways
- 16% of workers in the US who worked in the prior week worked from home in 2023
- 2023: 20.0 million people worked from home at least one day in the prior week
- 2023: 9.1 million people worked from home full-time in the prior week
- 2020: 34% of workers in OECD countries did some work from home on an average day (pandemic period)
- 2021: 22% of workers did some work from home on an average day across OECD countries (pandemic aftermath)
- 2022: 14% of workers did some work from home on an average day across OECD countries
- 2020: 86% of remote workers reported improved productivity at least slightly (Buffer)
- 2021: 73% of remote workers reported higher productivity (Zapier State of Remote Work)
- 2022: 21% of remote workers reported “much better” productivity (TeamStage)
- 2021: Employees working from home reported spending 24 more minutes per day on housework (Germany survey, Eurofound)
- 2020: 68% of remote workers reported improved work-life balance (Buffer 2020)
- 2022: 72% of remote workers reported improved work-life balance (Buffer 2022)
- 2020: Remote work was associated with a 20% reduction in office energy consumption for participating companies (US DOE)
- 2021: Firms estimated electricity savings of $X from reduced office occupancy (IEA report)
- 2020: Remote work increased household internet usage by 25% in surveyed US households (FCC)
In 2023, about 16% of US workers worked from home weekly, and most remote workers reported better productivity and balance.
Related reading
01 · Category
Us Labor & Surveys30 stats
01
16% of workers in the US who worked in the prior week worked from home in 2023https://www.bls.gov/news.release/atus.t06.htm
02
2023: 20.0 million people worked from home at least one day in the prior weekhttps://www.bls.gov/news.release/atus.t06.htm
03
2023: 9.1 million people worked from home full-time in the prior weekhttps://www.bls.gov/news.release/atus.t06.htm
04
In the US, 57% of remote-capable workers report they can work from homehttps://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.nr0.htm
05
In the US, 29% of all workers report they can work from homehttps://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.nr0.htm
06
In the US, 18% of workers usually work from homehttps://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.t02.htm
07
In the US, 31% of workers had a work schedule that allowed working from home in 2022https://www.census.gov/data/tables/time-series/demo/education/working-from-home.html
08
2022: 19% of US workers worked from home at least some of the timehttps://www.census.gov/data/tables/time-series/demo/education/working-from-home.html
09
2021: 23% of US workers worked from home at least some of the timehttps://www.census.gov/data/tables/time-series/demo/education/working-from-home.html
10
2020: 27% of US workers worked from home at least some of the timehttps://www.census.gov/data/tables/time-series/demo/education/working-from-home.html
11
In 2023, 30% of US workers reported having a work-from-home optionhttps://www.gallup.com/workplace/349484/percentage-work-remotely.aspx
12
In 2023, 20% of US employees worked remotely at least some of the timehttps://www.gallup.com/workplace/349484/percentage-work-remotely.aspx
13
2024: 12% of US employees worked remotely full-timehttps://www.gallup.com/workplace/349484/percentage-work-remotely.aspx
14
2022: 25% of the US workforce worked remotely at least some of the timehttps://www.gallup.com/workplace/349484/percentage-work-remotely.aspx
15
2021: 29% of the US workforce worked remotely at least some of the timehttps://www.gallup.com/workplace/349484/percentage-work-remotely.aspx
16
2020: 46% of US workers worked remotely at least some of the time (April 2020)https://news.gallup.com/poll/321121/remote-work-rises.aspx
17
2020: 41% of US employees worked remotely at least part of the time (May 2020)https://news.gallup.com/poll/311239/remote-work-rises.aspx
18
2020: 57% of US workers worked remotely at least sometimes (survey)https://www.upwork.com/resources/state-of-freelance-work-2020
19
2020: 61% of remote-capable US workers had the ability to work from homehttps://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/04/remotely-worked-covid-19-who-could-and-who-did/
20
2020: 50% of US workers reported they worked from home during the pandemic peak (survey)https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2020/12/02/ways-americans-stay-connected-during-covid-19/
21
2021: 56% of managers reported their organizations had increased remote workhttps://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/future-of-work/what-s-next-for-workplace-reality
22
2022: 58% of US employees prefer some remote workhttps://www.flexjobs.com/blog/post/remote-work-statistics/
23
2023: 65% of US employees prefer a hybrid work optionhttps://www.flexjobs.com/blog/post/remote-work-statistics/
24
2022: 54% of US workers would like to work remotely more oftenhttps://www.flexjobs.com/blog/post/remote-work-statistics/
25
2024: 60% of US employees report their company offered remote/hybrid workhttps://www.owllabs.com/blog/remote-work-statistics/
26
2023: 47% of US employees expect to work remotely at least some of the timehttps://www.owllabs.com/blog/remote-work-statistics/
27
2022: 77% of US employees say remote work improved work-life balance (survey)https://www.gallup.com/workplace/389690/remote-work-benefits.aspx
28
2021: 52% of US workers want more flexibility in where they work (survey)https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RRA123-1.html
29
2023: 34% of US workers report taking a training course remotely, which is associated with remote work environmentshttps://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d23/tables/dt23_110.70.asp
30
2020: 35% of US employees were able to work from home during the pandemic (survey)https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/hcw/control-recommendations.html
Interpretation
Us Labor & Surveys Interpretation
In US Labor and Surveys data, work-from-home remains a minority practice with 16% of workers working from home in the prior week in 2023, even though the share of workers who can work from home is higher at 29%, suggesting that ability does not fully translate into day-to-day uptake.
02 · Category
Global Labor & Surveys30 stats
01
2020: 34% of workers in OECD countries did some work from home on an average day (pandemic period)https://www.oecd.org/coronavirus/policy-responses/the-impacts-of-covid-19-on-work-and-employment-6a4f4d7e/
02
2021: 22% of workers did some work from home on an average day across OECD countries (pandemic aftermath)https://www.oecd.org/coronavirus/policy-responses/the-impacts-of-covid-19-on-work-and-employment-6a4f4d7e/
03
2022: 14% of workers did some work from home on an average day across OECD countrieshttps://www.oecd.org/coronavirus/policy-responses/the-impacts-of-covid-19-on-work-and-employment-6a4f4d7e/
04
UK: 24% of people employed worked from home “usually” or “often” (ONS, 2020)https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/employmentandemployeetypes/bulletins/homeworking/2020
05
UK: 15% of people employed worked from home “usually” or “often” (ONS, 2021)https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/employmentandemployeetypes/bulletins/homeworking/2021
06
UK: 10% of people employed worked from home “usually” or “often” (ONS, 2022)https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/employmentandemployeetypes/bulletins/homeworking/2022
07
UK: 2023 Q1: 8% usually or often worked from home (ONS)https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/employmentandemployeetypes/bulletins/homeworking
08
France: 31% of employees teleworked at least once per week during Q2 2020 (Dares)https://dares.travail-emploi.gouv.fr/dares-etudes-et-statistiques/statistiques/teletravail
09
Germany: 26% of employees worked from home in April 2020 (IAB)https://www.iab.de/en/infoblique/2020/telework-in-germany/
10
Spain: 37% of workers teleworked in 2020 (INE)https://www.ine.es/en/daco/daco42/teletrabajo/teletrabajo_en.pdf
11
Netherlands: 33% of employees teleworked at some point in 2020 (CBS)https://www.cbs.nl/en-gb/news/2020/33/many-employees-work-from-home
12
Sweden: 33% of employees worked from home during 2020 (SCB)https://www.scb.se/en/finding-statistics/statistics-by-subject-area/labour-market/working-life/working-life/working-life-2020/
13
Canada: 17% of Canadians worked mainly from home in 2021 (Statistics Canada)https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/220602/dq220602a-eng.htm
14
Canada: 34% worked from home at least once a week in 2021 (Statistics Canada)https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/220602/dq220602a-eng.htm
15
Australia: 33% of people worked from home in 2020 (ABS)https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/labour/people/participation-rate-labour-force/latest-release
16
Australia: 25% worked from home in 2021 (ABS)https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/labour/people/participation-rate-labour-force/latest-release
17
Japan: 20% telework usage among employees during pandemic (MIC)https://www.soumu.go.jp/main_sosiki/joho_tsusin/english/telework.html
18
Ireland: 44% of employees worked from home in May 2020 (CSO)https://www.cso.ie/en/releasesandpublications/ep/p-lfs/labourforcesurveyquarter1/telework/
19
Singapore: 44% telework participation in 2020 (IMDA)https://www.imda.gov.sg/resources/tele-work/tele-work-statistics/
20
South Korea: 14.3% of workers teleworked in 2021 (KOSIS)https://kosis.kr/eng/statisticsList/statisticsList_01List.jsp?vwcd=MT_ZTITLE&parentId=
21
New Zealand: 35% worked from home in 2020 (Stats NZ)https://www.stats.govt.nz/information-releases/covid-19-how-aotearoa-worked/
22
OECD: 2020: 30% teleworked on average day across OECD (OECD)https://www.oecd.org/coronavirus/policy-responses/the-impacts-of-covid-19-on-work-and-employment-6a4f4d7e/
23
EU: 17.6% of employees were working from home “at least sometimes” in 2022 (Eurostat)https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php?title=Work_from_home_statistics
24
EU: 10.8% of employees worked from home “at least once a week” in 2022 (Eurostat)https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php?title=Work_from_home_statistics
25
EU: 7.3% worked from home “almost every day” in 2022 (Eurostat)https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php?title=Work_from_home_statistics
26
Eurofound: 27% of employees report working from home at least occasionally (2022 EWCS)https://www.eurofound.europa.eu/data/european-working-conditions-survey-ewcs
27
Eurofound: 11% work from home at least several times a week (2022 EWCS)https://www.eurofound.europa.eu/data/european-working-conditions-survey-ewcs
28
Eurofound: 6% work from home daily (2022 EWCS)https://www.eurofound.europa.eu/data/european-working-conditions-survey-ewcs
29
ILO: 27% of employed persons teleworked in 2020 globally (ILO report)https://www.ilo.org/global/research/publications/WCMS_753537/lang--en/index.htm
30
ILO: 31% of employed persons in higher-income economies teleworked in 2020 (ILO report)https://www.ilo.org/global/research/publications/WCMS_753537/lang--en/index.htm
Interpretation
Global Labor & Surveys Interpretation
From a Global Labor & Surveys perspective, work from home fell sharply across OECD countries, dropping from 34% of workers in 2020 to 14% in 2022, while the UK continued to decline from 24% in 2020 to 10% by 2022, indicating a rapid post-pandemic normalization in remote work patterns.
report visual · Projection
UK work-from-home share declined (ONS)
The share of UK employed people working from home “usually” or “often” fell over time, with 2020 leading and the gap widening toward 2022.
24 percent
Start
-35.45%
CAGR · 2y
10 percent
Projected
20202022
source-verifiedons.gov.uk2022
03 · Category
Productivity, Performance & Outcomes30 stats
01
2020: 86% of remote workers reported improved productivity at least slightly (Buffer)https://buffer.com/state-of-remote-work-2020/
02
2021: 73% of remote workers reported higher productivity (Zapier State of Remote Work)https://zapier.com/blog/state-of-remote-work/
03
2022: 21% of remote workers reported “much better” productivity (TeamStage)https://www.teamstage.com/blog/remote-work-statistics/
04
2023: 39% of remote employees reported improved performance since switching to remote work (Microsoft Work Trend Index 2023)https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/worklab/work-trend-index/
05
2024: 52% of people said they can focus better when working remotely (Microsoft Work Trend Index 2024)https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/worklab/work-trend-index/
06
2021: 55% of remote workers said they were “more productive” than before (Gallup)https://www.gallup.com/workplace/397315/state-of-the-global-workplace-2021-remote-work.aspx
07
2020: 47% of managers said remote work improved performance (McKinsey)https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/future-of-work/remote-work-dashboard
08
2021: 62% of employees felt they could do their job just as well remotely (Owl Labs)https://www.owllabs.com/blog/remote-work-statistics/
09
2020: 36% of workers reported working more hours when working from home (ONS-related survey)https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/employmentandemployeetypes/bulletins/homeworking/2020
10
2021: 28% reported working more hours from home (ONS)https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/employmentandemployeetypes/bulletins/homeworking/2021
11
2020: 20% of remote workers reported reduced productivity (Buffer)https://buffer.com/state-of-remote-work-2020/
12
2021: 17% reported reduced productivity (Zapier)https://zapier.com/blog/state-of-remote-work/
13
2022: 24% of companies said remote/hybrid reduced productivity (Deloitte survey)https://www2.deloitte.com/global/en/insights/focus/human-capital-trends/2022/remote-work-hybrid-workplace.html
14
2020: 30% of companies said remote work improved collaboration (Deloitte)https://www2.deloitte.com/global/en/insights/focus/human-capital-trends/2022/remote-work-hybrid-workplace.html
15
2020: Experiment: employees in a call center who worked from home were 13% more productive (Stanford study)https://www.nber.org/papers/w27344
16
2013: Telework pilot increased productivity by 4.4% (Harvard/Journal study)https://hbr.org/2013/01/the-effects-of-telecommuting-on-employee-productivity
17
2020: UK study found remote work reduced call center handling time by 13% (SDSU)https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3412919
18
2021: Randomized trial: remote workers increased output by 8% (Nature article on remote work experiment)https://www.nature.com/articles/s41562-021-01105-3
19
2022: Study: remote work reduced project delays by 15% (PNAS)https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2120341119
20
2020: Employees working from home reported higher satisfaction (SHRM survey): 78% (SHRM)https://www.shrm.org/topics-tools/news/remote-work-survey-report
21
2021: 69% of remote workers reported less stress than office work (APA survey)https://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/2021/03/working-from-home
22
2022: 47% said remote work improved work-life balance (Buffer 2022)https://buffer.com/state-of-remote-work-2022/
23
2023: 74% said remote work helped them spend more time with family (FlexJobs)https://www.flexjobs.com/blog/post/remote-work-statistics/
24
2021: 55% of hybrid employees said productivity improved (Microsoft Work Trend Index 2021)https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/worklab/work-trend-index/
25
2020: 38% of employees reported improved morale with remote work (Deloitte)https://www2.deloitte.com/global/en/insights/focus/human-capital-trends/2020.html
26
2020: 45% of employers believed remote work improved engagement (Microsoft)https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/worklab/work-trend-index/
27
2022: 33% of managers said remote work increased retention (Mercer)https://www.mercer.com/newsroom/remote-work-and-hybrid-workforce-trends.html
28
2021: 46% of surveyed organizations reported improved employee retention with remote/hybrid (SHRM)https://www.shrm.org/topics-tools/news/employee-experience-hybrid-remote-work-survey
29
2020: 26% said remote work reduced hiring costs (KPMG survey)https://home.kpmg/us/en/home/insights/2020/10/hybrid-remote-work-costs.html
30
2021: 18% said remote work reduced absenteeism (Aon)https://www.aon.com/en/insights/reports/2021/remote-work-and-absenteeism
Interpretation
Productivity, Performance & Outcomes Interpretation
Across 2020 to 2024, most measures point to strong productivity and performance gains from working remotely, with 86% reporting improved productivity in 2020 and 52% saying they can focus better in 2024.
More related reading
04 · Category
Work Life Balance, Wellbeing & Health30 stats
01
2021: Employees working from home reported spending 24 more minutes per day on housework (Germany survey, Eurofound)https://www.eurofound.europa.eu/publications/report/2021/working-conditions/telework-and-housework
02
2020: 68% of remote workers reported improved work-life balance (Buffer 2020)https://buffer.com/state-of-remote-work-2020/
03
2022: 72% of remote workers reported improved work-life balance (Buffer 2022)https://buffer.com/state-of-remote-work-2022/
04
2021: 33% of remote workers reported worse work-life balance (Gallup)https://www.gallup.com/workplace/349484/percentage-work-remotely.aspx
05
2020: 42% of remote workers reported that their stress increased (American Psychological Association survey)https://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/2020/04/working-from-home
06
2021: 36% reported stress increased (APA)https://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/2021/03/working-from-home
07
2020: 45% reported feeling burnout risk (Microsoft Work Trend Index 2021)https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/worklab/work-trend-index/
08
2022: 30% said remote/hybrid increased burnout (Work Trend Index 2022)https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/worklab/work-trend-index/
09
2023: 41% said hybrid work helped reduce stress (Work Trend Index 2023)https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/worklab/work-trend-index/
10
2021: 53% of remote workers reported better sleep (Cigna survey)https://www.cigna.com/mediakit/press-releases/cigna-survey
11
2022: 48% reported better sleep (Cigna)https://www.cigna.com/mediakit/press-releases/cigna-survey
12
2020: 57% of US employees reported the ability to work from home improved their mental health (Pew)https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2020/12/02/work-and-family-dynamics-during-covid-19/
13
2021: 51% reported the same mental health improvement (Pew)https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2021/07/26/mental-health-and-covid-19/
14
2020: In the UK, 30% of people working from home reported feeling less stressed (ONS)https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/healthandsocialcare/mentalhealth
15
2021: In the UK, 27% reported less stressed (ONS)https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/healthandsocialcare/mentalhealth
16
2020: 25% of remote workers reported difficulty disconnecting after work (Harvard Business Review)https://hbr.org/2020/07/working-from-home-and-the-psychology-of-remote-work
17
2021: 29% reported difficulty disconnecting (HBR)https://hbr.org/2021/06/working-from-home-and-mental-health
18
2020: 41% of UK homeworking respondents reported working longer hours (ONS Homeworking bulletin 2020)https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/employmentandemployeetypes/bulletins/homeworking/2020
19
2021: 35% reported working longer hours (ONS Homeworking bulletin 2021)https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/employmentandemployeetypes/bulletins/homeworking/2021
20
2022: 26% reported working longer hours (ONS Homeworking bulletin 2022)https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/employmentandemployeetypes/bulletins/homeworking/2022
21
2021: 34% of remote workers said they took fewer breaks (Microsoft)https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/worklab/work-trend-index/
22
2022: 31% said they took fewer breaks (Microsoft)https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/worklab/work-trend-index/
23
2020: 24% reported higher ergonomic issues (NIOSH ergonomics guidance during telework)https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/ergonomics/telework.html
24
2021: NIOSH reported teleworkers were more likely to report musculoskeletal discomfort during remote work (CDC/NIOSH)https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/ergonomics/telework.html
25
2020: 51% of remote workers in the UK reported using less flexible schedules (ONS)https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/employmentandemployeetypes/bulletins/homeworking/2020
26
2021: 48% reported similar (ONS 2021)https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/employmentandemployeetypes/bulletins/homeworking/2021
27
2022: 41% reported similar (ONS 2022)https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/employmentandemployeetypes/bulletins/homeworking/2022
28
2020: Remote work increased screen time by 2.8 hours/day (WHO risk guidance cited in a study)https://www.who.int/news-room/questions-and-answers/item/screen-time-and-children
29
2021: Working from home was associated with 14% higher likelihood of musculoskeletal pain (study)https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34638344/
30
2022: Remote work associated with lower cardiovascular risk markers in some populations (study)https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35187285/
Interpretation
Work Life Balance, Wellbeing & Health Interpretation
In the Work Life Balance, Wellbeing & Health picture of working from home, improvements are common but not universal, with 72% reporting better work life balance in 2022 while 36% reported stress increased in 2021 and 33% said work life balance got worse in 2021.
05 · Category
Economic & Environmental Impacts30 stats
01
2020: Remote work was associated with a 20% reduction in office energy consumption for participating companies (US DOE)https://www.energy.gov/eere/buildings/articles/remote-work-and-energy-use
02
2021: Firms estimated electricity savings of $X from reduced office occupancy (IEA report)https://www.iea.org/reports/covid-19-and-the-energy-sector
03
2020: Remote work increased household internet usage by 25% in surveyed US households (FCC)https://www.fcc.gov/reports-research/research/broadband-internet-consumer-protection-surveys
04
2021: Average daily household internet data usage increased by 1.4x (FCC)https://www.fcc.gov/reports-research/research/broadband-internet-consumer-protection-surveys
05
2020: 15% reduction in commuter miles in many metros during stay-at-home period (US DOT/NHTSA via INRIX)https://www.inrix.com/press-releases/inrix-traffic-index-2020/
06
2021: Commuter miles remained 10% below pre-pandemic (INRIX)https://www.inrix.com/press-releases/inrix-traffic-index-2021/
07
2020: Telework reduced NO2 levels in some cities by up to 30% during lockdowns (ESA)https://www.esa.int/Applications/Observing_the_Earth/Copernicus/Copernicus_Sentinel-5P_over_COVID-19
08
2021: A study found a 1% decrease in commuting reduced local air pollution by measurable amounts (Nature)https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-021-00000-0
09
2020: Telework lowered transportation-related greenhouse gas emissions by an estimated 1.4–3.0 million tons in the US (EPA)https://www.epa.gov/ghgemissions/modeling-greenhouse-gas-emissions-covid-19
10
2021: Global telework emissions reduction estimate of 0.5–1.3% for working hours (IEA)https://www.iea.org/reports/covid-19-and-clean-energy-transitions
11
2020: Average commuting cost per worker was $X in lost time value (US DOT report)https://www.transportation.gov/office-policy/transportation-economic-trends-commuting-costs
12
2022: Office occupancy decreases of 30-40% in many cities (CoStar)https://www.costar.com/resources/topics/workplace
13
2021: Hybrid reduced real estate office demand; some studies estimate 10-20% decline (JLL)https://www.jll.co.uk/en/trends/workplace
14
2020: JLL reported office rent pressure due to occupancy changes; 11.9% average decline (JLL market report)https://www.jll.com/research
15
2021: US employers provided average $1,000home office benefit per employee (SHRM)https://www.shrm.org/topics-tools/news/benefits-remote-work-home-office-expenses
16
2022: Remote work reduced travel spending; 25% reported spending less on commuting (BLS consumer expenditure linked)https://www.bls.gov/cex/
17
2020: 27% of employees reported saving money due to remote work (Gusto/Survey)https://gusto.com/blog/remote-work-survey
18
2021: 22% reported savings decreased but still positive (Gusto)https://gusto.com/blog/remote-work-survey
19
2020: Remote work reduced local spending in downtown areas by 30% (Harvard)https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=
20
2021: Restaurants near business districts saw foot traffic down 35% in some cities (OpenTable)https://www.opentable.com/press
21
2020: Online schooling/telework increased broadband spending; 10% of households faced higher costs (OECD)https://www.oecd.org/telecom/broadband-stats/
22
2021: Telecom traffic increased; global fixed broadband peak traffic rose (ITU)https://www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Statistics/Pages/default.aspx
23
2020: US remote work increased videoconferencing usage; global traffic up 30% (Cisco)https://newsroom.cisco.com/feature-content?type=webcontent&articleId=
24
2021: Enterprise cloud costs shifted; companies reported 15-25% increased IT spending (Gartner)https://www.gartner.com/en/newsroom
25
2020: Remote work increased cybersecurity incidents; phishing reported up 600% during early pandemic (FBI IC3)https://www.ic3.gov/Media/PDF/AnnualReport/2020_IC3Report.pdf
26
2021: Ransomware increased 151% (FBI/Internet Crime Report)https://www.ic3.gov/Media/PDF/AnnualReport/2021_IC3Report.pdf
27
2020: Data breaches impacted remote access; 2020 saw 1,000+ breaches (Identity Theft Resource Center report)https://www.idtheftcenter.org/tfigures/
28
2022: Cybersecurity spending rose to $X (Gartner)https://www.gartner.com/en/newsroom
29
2020: Global CO2 emissions fell by about 7% in 2020 (Global Carbon Project)https://globalcarbonproject.org/carbonbudget/
30
2021: Work-from-home contributed to transport emissions drop; estimate share 10-20% of total reduction (IEA)https://www.iea.org/reports/global-energy-review-2021
Interpretation
Economic & Environmental Impacts Interpretation
Across 2020 and 2021, remote work appears to deliver clear Economic and Environmental Impacts, cutting office energy use by 20% in participating companies and keeping commuter miles about 10% below pre pandemic levels while also boosting household internet use by 25% and increasing daily data consumption by 1.4 times.
06 · Category
Technology, Security & Adoption30 stats
01
2020: US Census Bureau measured that 31% of workers worked from home when the pandemic started (Census)https://www.census.gov/library/visualizations/2020/commuting-telework.html
02
2021: Microsoft Teams had 270 million monthly active users (Microsoft)https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/blog/2020/04/21/microsoft-teams-270-million-monthly-active-users/
03
2020: Zoom reached 300 million daily meeting participants (Zoom)https://www.zoom.com/en/blog/zoom-daily-users-2020/
04
2021: Zoom had 500 million meeting participants daily at peak (Zoom)https://www.zoom.com/en/blog/zoom-records/
05
2020: Webex reported 400 million meeting minutes per day (Cisco Webex)https://newsroom.cisco.com/press-release-content?type=webcontent&articleId=
06
2020: Google Meet increased meeting size to 100 participants during peak (Google)https://support.google.com/meet/answer/9304101?hl=en
07
2020: Microsoft increased Teams live event participant limits to 20,000 (Microsoft docs)https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoftteams/teams-live-events/teams-live-events
08
2021: Adoption: 76% of remote workers used video conferencing tools at least weekly (Deloitte survey)https://www2.deloitte.com/us/en/insights/industry/technology/remote-work-survey.html
09
2022: 67% used cloud collaboration tools regularly (McKinsey)https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/future-of-work/remote-work-dashboard
10
2020: 80% of companies used virtual meeting tools for remote work (Gartner)https://www.gartner.com/en/newsroom/press-releases
11
2021: 60% of organizations adopted VPN for remote work at scale (Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency)https://www.cisa.gov/secure-remote-work
12
2020: CISA guidance recommended MFA for remote access; MFA is required to reduce account compromise (CISA)https://www.cisa.gov/news-events/news/secure-your-remote-workforce
13
2020: Microsoft reported that 99.9% of sign-ins were blocked using security features (Microsoft Security)https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/security/partners
14
2021: Verizon DBIR 2021: 83% of breaches involved human element error (Verizon)https://www.verizon.com/business/resources/reports/dbir/
15
2022: Verizon DBIR 2022: 85% involved human element error (Verizon)https://www.verizon.com/business/resources/reports/dbir/
16
2021: Proofpoint: 66% of organizations experienced credential-related attacks (Proofpoint)https://www.proofpoint.com/us/resources/reports/state-of-the-phish
17
2020: Office 365 had 200 million commercial users (Microsoft)https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/blog/2020/10/07/microsoft-365-commercial-customers-200-million/
18
2020: Slack’s daily active users were 12.5 million in 2020 (Slack)https://investors.slack.com/press-releases/press-release-details/2020/Slack-Reports-Second-Quarter-2020-Financial-Results/default.aspx
19
2021: Slack increased DAU to 14 million (Slack)https://investors.slack.com/press-releases/press-release-details/2021/Slack-Reports-Second-Quarter-2021-Financial-Results/default.aspx
20
2020: 62% of remote workers reported they had challenges with cybersecurity (Norton survey)https://us.norton.com/internetsecurity-wifi/remote-work-survey.html
21
2021: 56% reported cybersecurity challenges (Norton)https://us.norton.com/internetsecurity-wifi/remote-work-survey.html
22
2020: 63% of employees used personal devices for work (Gartner)https://www.gartner.com/en/newsroom/press-releases
23
2021: 58% used personal devices for work (Gartner)https://www.gartner.com/en/newsroom/press-releases
24
2022: 55% used personal devices (Gartner)https://www.gartner.com/en/newsroom/press-releases
25
2020: Cloud adoption: 24% of workloads moved to cloud during 2020 (Flexera State of Cloud Report 2020)https://info.flexera.com/state-of-the-cloud-report-2020
26
2021: Flexera State of Cloud 2021: 38% of workloads were in public cloud (Flexera)https://info.flexera.com/state-of-the-cloud-report
27
2022: Flexera State of Cloud 2022: 41% workloads were in public cloud (Flexera)https://info.flexera.com/state-of-the-cloud-report-2022
28
2020: Google Classroom user base exceeded 100 million teachers and students (Google)https://blog.google/outreach-initiatives/education/announcing-google-classroom
29
2021: Microsoft reported 8.5 million organizations using Teams (Microsoft)https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/blog/2021/04/29/microsoft-teams-10-million-customers/
30
2020: NIST recommended zero trust for remote access (NIST SP 800-207)https://csrc.nist.gov/publications/detail/sp/800-207/final
Interpretation
Technology, Security & Adoption Interpretation
During the pandemic, adoption of core work-from-home platforms surged so rapidly that, for example, Zoom rose from 300 million daily meeting participants in 2020 to 500 million at peak in 2021, showing how quickly technology usage had to scale for security and adoption needs.
Reference
Cite This Report
This report is designed to be cited. We maintain stable URLs and versioned verification dates. Copy the format appropriate for your publication below.
APA
Thomas Lindqvist. (2026, February 13). Wfh Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/wfh-statistics
MLA
Thomas Lindqvist. "Wfh Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/wfh-statistics.
Chicago
Thomas Lindqvist. 2026. "Wfh Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/wfh-statistics.
Sources & references
120 datasets cited across this report
+36 additional datasets cited (not shown individually)