Remote Work Before, During, and After COVID-19: What HR Leaders Need to Know (Global + Regional Comparison)

Remote working has shifted from a “perk” to a structural workforce design choice—reshaping talent strategy, operating models, and compliance risk. But the pattern is not uniform: the pandemic acted as an accelerator, while the post-pandemic era is a “settling” period where geography, job architecture, and culture now drive persistent differences.

1) Pre-pandemic baseline: remote work existed—but was niche

Before 2020, working from home was statistically meaningful mainly in specific occupations (IT, professional services, some back-office functions) and specific labor markets. In the United States, only ~5–7% of paid workdays were performed from home in 2019. 

In the EU, 5.5% of employed people aged 20–64 usually worked from home in 2019. 

Globally, the ILO estimated 7.9% of workers were “home-based” in 2019 (a broader concept than telework but a useful baseline for global comparison). 

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European Commission

International Labour Organization

HR takeaway (pre-2020): Remote work was primarily an occupational and organizational maturity play—not a mainstream policy lever.

2) Pandemic surge: emergency remote work and rapid policy scaling

Lockdowns drove the biggest “workplace operating model” shock in modern history. In the U.S., work from home jumped to nearly 60% of paid workdays during spring 2020 restrictions. 

In the EU, the share who usually worked from home more than doubled to 12.3% in 2020 (and rose to 13.5% in 2021, noting a methodological break in series from 2021 onward). 

Globally, an ILO brief using survey evidence across countries estimated ~17.5% of the employed population performed paid work from home during the crisis period studied. 

wfhresearch.com +1

European Commission

International Labour Organization

HR takeaway (2020–2021): Many organizations expanded remote work faster than their HR governance could keep up—creating downstream exposure in: cross-border tax/social security, working time compliance, DSE/ergonomics duty of care, information security, and performance calibration.

3) Post-pandemic equilibrium: hybrid becomes the dominant compromise (but unevenly)

The most robust multi-country evidence now suggests remote work stabilized from 2023 onward rather than continuing to “snap back.” In late 2024/early 2025, college-educated full-time employees across surveyed countries averaged ~1.23 WFH days/week—about 25% of workdays. 

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Regional differences are pronounced:

English-speaking markets (US/UK/Canada/Ireland): typically ~1.5–1.9 WFH days/week 

PMC

Europe (many countries): generally ~1 day/week 

PMC

East Asia (advanced economies): well below 1 day/week on average 

PMC

A practical HR “signal” for the UK: the ONS reported 28% of working adults in Great Britain were hybrid working in autumn 2024.

ons.gov.uk

HR takeaway (2023+): The competitive differentiator is no longer “remote allowed?”—it’s how you operationalize hybrid: role-based eligibility, manager capability, measurable outcomes, equitable career progression, and location strategy (hubs vs. distributed teams).