Hybrid work: These are Europe's most and least flexible countries

Hybrid work is holding up in Europe despite a steady decline in fully remote positions and pressure to return to the office five days a week.

Transcript

00:00Is remote work on the way out?

00:07There's a feeling the era of remote work might be nearing its end.

00:12Recently, companies like JP Morgan, Amazon and Goldman Sachs

00:16mandated thousands of employees to return to the office five days a week,

00:21citing reasons like productivity and work culture.

00:25In the EU, however, hybrid work is holding up and remains the most common,

00:31with a rate of 44% compared to 41% who must be present at the workplace.

00:39However, the workplace-only rate has grown by 5% between 2023 and 2024,

00:46while the percentage of hybrid work declined by 1%.

00:51Asked about their preferences, the overwhelming majority of EU workers

00:56want to work remotely at least several times a month.

01:00However, huge disparities remain between EU member states.

01:05In countries like the Netherlands, Ireland, Finland, Germany and Belgium,

01:10most workers are allowed to fully or partially work from home,

01:14with rates close to or over 70%.

01:18On the other hand, Cyprus, Greece, Croatia, Portugal and Italy

01:23are some of the least flexible countries,

01:26with the majority of people never working from home.