Remote
Native

Remote work reached 52% of the global workforce in 2026 — almost double the pre-pandemic level of 20% in 2020. In the US, over 32.6 million people work remotely, making up 22% of the national workforce. Stanford economist Nick Bloom's research confirms that 27% of paid full-time US workdays are now worked from home — a rate that has been "flat as a pancake" since early 2023.

Despite high-profile return-to-office mandates from Amazon, JPMorgan, Apple, and the federal government, the data shows remote and hybrid work holding steady across the private sector. 88% of employers provide some hybrid options, and only 16% of job seekers say their top choice is a fully in-office role.

The technology sector leads all industries at 48% fully remote — with 44% hybrid and only 8% fully on-site. Employees value flexibility as equivalent to an 8% pay raise, and Harvard Business School research shows tech workers would sacrifice up to 25% of total compensation to avoid five-day commutes.

For founders and operators, this signal has two strategic implications: remote hiring delivers 340% larger candidate pools and 16% faster time-to-hire, and companies offering flexible work models demonstrate measurably higher retention — with 97 of the top 100 employee satisfaction companies offering remote or hybrid options.