Across Europe, a “culture war” over working from home has broken out, with the UK emerging as essentially the most home-office-friendly country, while France lags behind.

Locations Of course, that wasn’t the case, nor was the form of work that individuals typically did in offices before the pandemic. But the inherent connection between the 2 was irrevocably broken as working from home became first a necessity after which perpetually an option.

Meanwhile, working from home has change into a degree of contention all over the world, as employees argue with management about where they work and who has the selection. Professor Mark Mortensen of the INSEAD business school says: Assets“There is a culture war going on right now.”

Like most wars, the battle over distant and hybrid work has multiple fronts. So where in Europe is home working winning?

What does the information say?

According to the Global Survey of Working Arrangements (G-SWA), an authoritative annual study by leading economists into the behaviour and preferences of over 40,000 staff in 34 countries, the UK tops the house working rankings in Europe.

In fact, the typical British graduate spends twice as much time teleworking as their French counterparts – and 3 times as much as their Greek counterparts. Countries akin to Portugal and Italy, which specifically goal teleworking from abroad, have average teleworking rates, in contrast.

Working days per week, chosen European countries:

• Great Britain: 1.8 (same as USA)
• Germany 1.5
• Netherlands/Italy/Spain/Sweden 1.2 (corresponds to the European average)
• Portugal 1.0
• France 0.9
• Denmark 0.8
• Greece 0.6

Source: G-SWA 2023

The latest data from G-SWA is from spring 2023, however the pattern appears to be holding.

According to LinkedIn data collected for Assets41% of UK job postings on its platform were for hybrid roles in April 2024, in comparison with 32% for your entire Europe, Middle East and Africa region.

At 9%, the UK also has the very best proportion of remote-only jobs in Europe – 3 times greater than France and the Netherlands, which led the way in which in distant working before the pandemic.

Perhaps essentially the most convincing indicator is data on transport usage. evaluation A study conducted by the UK Department for Transport found that London Underground usage between May and June 2024 would only reach between 75 and 87 percent of 2019 levels, with Mondays and Fridays consistently well below pre-pandemic averages.

Travelpix Ltd – Getty Images

For comparison: According to the Global Cities Survey 2024By the second quarter of 2023, Paris RER had returned to 91% of its pre-pandemic user base.

Why?

Several aspects influence distant and hybrid work rates, including WiFi connectivity, different lockdown experiences, and the industry mix in numerous countries. Simply put, manufacturing and retail aren’t suited to working from home, while programming and publishing are.

Compared to most of its European neighbours, the UK economy is more focused on the services sector, particularly the financial and technology sectors, so structurally it is predicted to see more hybrid and distant working.

But there may be one other, arguably more essential factor, says Mortensen of INSEAD: a national culture of individualism.

“The more individualistic a country is, the more people like and push for remote work and hybrid working,” he says, pointing to high levels of individualism in countries just like the UK and the Netherlands, while there may be significantly less individualism in Asian countries like Japan, China and South Korea, where home working rates are also much lower.

“That’s another reason why the US tends to be very strongly represented,” Mortensen adds.

In fact, analyses by the international economists behind the G-SWA suggest that two thirds of the variance between countries will be explained by their degree of collectivism or individualism.

It definitely seems to affect what people in numerous countries say about how willing they’re to follow the instructions to return to the office. Recruiter Randstads 2024 Work monitorThe study, which surveyed 35,000 employees worldwide, found that the British are significantly more taken with working from home than their peers on the continent.

Drawn by Nami – Getty Images

When asked in the event that they would quit if their employer forced them to do more paperwork, 55 percent of respondents within the UK answered “yes.” In comparison, the figures were only 23 to 26 percent for respondents in France, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands, 29 percent in Spain and 30 percent in Sweden.

Is that essential?

Demand for flexible working arrangements stays high, with employees in countries with low WFH rates, akin to Greece and Turkey, expressing a desire to do business from home, just like their counterparts within the UK.

In the Netherlands, distant applications now account for a share of the full variety of applications five times higher than the share of job offers for distant work.

There are not any signs of this preference changing, not less than not yet. “Our data shows that professionals are unwilling to give up the flexibility and work-life balance that come with remote and hybrid roles, as competition for these jobs is fierce,” says LinkedIn profession expert Charlotte Davies.

If employees’ preference for flexible working hours continues, we are able to expect further concessions from firms competing for one of the best talent, especially in places where working from house is currently less common.

This is especially the case where the fitting to do business from home is enshrined in law or through trade union policy.

Getty Images

Mortensen, nonetheless, shouldn’t be convinced. “It drives me crazy when people [pandemic era] Data and say, well, it worked during COVID, which was a huge existential fear and people had no choice… Just because the company doesn’t fall apart in two years doesn’t mean remote work is the best way to organize.”

He points to the experiences of firms akin to Microsoft and Meta regarding the “deterioration of social relationships” that comes from people not working together in person, the shortage of “enculturation” of latest employees and the decline in creativity and solidarity that comes with the increasing variety of home working positions.

“We know that things which can be helpful for organizations are sometimes helpful for people too. People feel engaged and motivated after they do something recent and revolutionary. [being in the office] shouldn’t be only good for the corporate, but additionally for me,” says Mortensen.

In other words, if an excessive amount of time at home affects performance – and subsequently profession prospects and job security – it would not be as attractive to employees.

Ultimately, we’re still coping with relatively recent arrangements, the long-term impact of which is unknown. The situation continues to be evolving, as is our understanding of how we cope with it as employers and the way we feel about it as employees – and that applies wherever you reside.