Remote working or teleworking has grown steadily since the 1970s, before experiencing a sharp acceleration and coming into the spotlight during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, barely 55 years after its advent, this practice, touted as a model of flexibility and productivity, is now being rejected by a growing number of companies across the Atlantic, which already see it as a threat to both collaborative work and corporate culture.
Teleworking was born in the 1970s. At the time, the leading telephone service provider in the United States, American Telegraph Telephone, was a pioneer in this field. France had to wait 23 years and the government of Edouard Balladur before teleworking began to be taken into account in 1993.
With Covid and the first lockdown decreed in France on the evening of March 16, 2020 by President Emmanuel Macron, teleworking is seen as a temporary means for many companies to continue their activities. Indeed, those declared “vital” are required to continue operating (health, food, water management, research, banking, communication, information, etc.). Others were asked to close their doors for a while.
In the United States, Tesla CEO Elon Musk is the first to require his employees to return to the office in 2022. This RTO (Return to Office) policy is quickly adopted in 2024 by Amazon, JP Morgan, Starbucks, and Boeing. In France, Amazon, Publicis, and Ubisoft are following suit.
52% of the world’s population
According to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, in the first quarter of 2024, 35.5 million people in the United States were working remotely, representing 22.9% of the working population.
In 2023, more than a quarter of French employees, or around 6.1 million people, were teleworking at least occasionally.
While there are no precise figures at the international level, the International Labor Organization (ILO) estimated in 2019—before the pandemic—that there were approximately 260 million “home-based” workers (including telecitizens, freelancers, etc.), representing around 7.9% of total employment worldwide.
More recent studies suggest that nearly 52% of employees worldwide work remotely at least once a week.
48% of French people during Covid
During the Covid pandemic, it is estimated that at least 48% of the French population worked from home at least once. This compares to just 22% in 2019.
By way of comparison, in the United States, 9 million people worked from home, representing 5.7% of the national workforce. In 2021, this rate rose to 17.9% (or 27.6 million people) for those who worked mainly from home.
In 2020, during the peak of the pandemic, the number of teleworkers worldwide (estimated at 260 million before the pandemic) is thought to have almost doubled, with nearly 560 million people working from home at some point.
+13% or -30%?
According to studies published in 2015 by Nicholas Bloom, teleworking is a good solution for improving concentration and job satisfaction. According to the author, this could improve by 13%.
However, another study by Morikawa observed, on the contrary, a 30% drop in productivity in Japanese companies during the early stages of the Covid pandemic. According to the study, this lower efficiency can be explained by increased effort in communication and coordination with colleagues.
More recently, a study by the OECD Global Productivity Forum emphasized that “high adoption of telework and high productivity are clearly not incompatible.” However, the researchers found that the most successful companies in terms of teleworking were those where management was experienced in the practice, particularly in innovative companies. They also found that productivity increases with up to two days of effective teleworking per week but declines beyond that.
1.7 days/week
According to a report by the Alpha Group, the average number of teleworking days per week in France is estimated to be 1.7 days in 2025.
In the United States, the ifo/EconPol study (2023) gives an average of 1.4 days per week of teleworking for full-time employees.
45%
With Covid, teleworking has become an argument for employee retention. Indeed, it has established itself as an essential option for workers who want to better manage their work-life balance.
Thus, in France, nearly half of executives (45%) stated in an APEC study that they would be willing to resign if access to teleworking were completely removed.
In the United States, a study by FTI Consulting reveals that 70% of employees who work remotely or in a hybrid mode (alternating between on-site and remote work) would be likely to look for a new job if their company required them to return to the office full-time.
The Pew Research Center goes even further. Among employees whose work can be done remotely, 46% of those surveyed said they “would not be likely to stay” in their job if teleworking were prohibited.
While American business leaders, led by Elon Musk, seem to be able to reverse course without much trouble, in France, remote work is here to stay in the daily lives of professionals. However, it remains a tool to be used sparingly, as it is likely to accentuate social inequalities between those who can work remotely and those who cannot (due to their profession, lack of equipment, etc.).
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