Hybrid work continues to thrive in Europe, even as fully remote positions decline and calls for a full return to the office grow.
Fully remote work seems to be on the decline, with major companies like JPMorgan, Amazon, and Goldman Sachs recently requiring employees to return to the office five days a week, citing concerns over productivity and company culture.
Despite a 1% drop in the past year, hybrid work remains the most common arrangement across the European Union, with 44% of employees in roles that can be done remotely working under a hybrid model. In comparison, workplace-only roles increased by 5% to 41% over the past year, according to Eurofound’s latest Living and Working in the EU report. Fully remote roles have decreased sharply, from 24% in 2022 to just 14% in 2024. The situation regarding remote work across the EU is highly fragmented.
Countries such as the Netherlands, Ireland, Finland, and Germany are among the most flexible, with more than 70% of workers allowed to work from home either fully or partially.
On the flip side, countries like Cyprus, Greece, Croatia, Portugal, and Italy are among the least flexible, with most workers unable to work from home. The UK, although not included in the Eurofound survey, conducted its own poll between December 2024 and January 2025, which found that 41% of adults work from home at least occasionally. This data includes all types of workers, not just those in remote-capable roles.
The highest percentage of British homeworkers falls within the 30-49 age group, at 56%, while the lowest is among those 70 and older, at just 14%.
Men and women reported similar percentages of hybrid work, with 42% of men and 40% of women working from home. Across most EU countries, men are more likely to work partially or fully from home than women, with Cyprus having the lowest rates for both men (25%) and women (22%). In contrast, the Netherlands showed the highest rates for both genders, with 83% of men and 72% of women working from home.
When it comes to preferences, a clear majority (74%) of EU workers express a desire to work remotely at least a few times a month. The plurality (31%) would prefer to work from home several times a week, while 24% would choose to do so daily. However, 18% say they would never want to work remotely.
The research also notes that the desire to work exclusively from home has grown since the pandemic, rising from 13% in 2020 to 24% in 2024.
