Remote working has increased significantly since the pandemic began – and continues to remain at high levels. It is now more than three times as common for the majority of work to be done from home than in the years before the Covid-19 pandemic, according to an analysis by the Mediation Institute, as referenced by the trade union newspaper Publikt.
Last year, around 43 per cent of Sweden's employees worked from home to some extent, and around 13 per cent spent more than half of their working hours at home. In the years before the pandemic, that figure was less than 4 per cent.
The group that works most from home is salaried employees in the private sector, where more men than women have chosen this form of work. However, looking at the entire labour market, women work more frequently from home than men.
As a result of the increased remote working, commuting has decreased, and the Mediation Institute concludes that the increase has its roots in the pandemic. Since 2020 and 2021, this form of work has decreased slightly, but still remains at higher levels than before the pandemic.
