During the pandemic 4–5 years ago, hordes of white-collar workers left their workplaces to work from home. And many stayed there - it became the new normal in many workplaces.
But recently, there has been a trend where employers want their workforce back in the office. A commonly mentioned reason is that innovation is stronger with physical meetings.
According to Statistics Sweden's latest figures for the first quarter of 2026, over 1.6 million employees work from home at least one day a week, which is 38 percent of all employees. Twenty years ago, that share was around 20 percent.
Decreasing in number
But recently, Statistics Sweden's figures show that the number of people who frequently work from home has decreased significantly.
It was recently reported that truck giant Scania wants to bring back the part of its staff that has been able to work from home, a demand that was met with protests. The same demand has also been met with some dissatisfaction at other large companies such as Volvo and Ericsson. And now there are proposals from more and more companies, according to Camilla Frankelius.
In both mining and technology, pharmaceuticals and even the paper industry, these issues are on the negotiating table, or at least are currently being discussed.
Peter Mellin, Sweden manager at Sodexo, which provides various types of property services for companies, also notices a change among customers.
More people are coming into the offices now than they did a while ago, he says.
Starting to regulate
Before, Mondays and Fridays were pretty empty days.
I would say that Monday is gone. However, we still see a Friday difference, says Peter Mellin, who notices that companies have started to regulate more clearly what applies in the workplace.
And you learn what works.
According to the union, it must not be too rigid. Companies risk people quitting if employees are forced back, argues Camilla Frankelius.
Employers risk shooting themselves in the foot, she says.
Now, far from everyone has had the opportunity to work from home. Some might argue that white-collar workers are a bit whiny - that for workers who have to be on-site, it seems like a luxury.
Although, according to Frankelius, offices have changed in many cases over the years, there may not be enough space for everyone. Surveys have shown practical problems, such as long toilet queues, general crowding and a poor working environment.
It is important for the employer to clarify what the main benefit is of everyone being in the office.
Fact: So many people work remotely
First quarter 2026, ages 20–66 years
Total employed, 4,310,000
Work from home at least half the days, 421,000
Half of the days, 173,000
Less than half of the days, 1,062,000
Did not work from home, 2,640,000
Source: Statistics Sweden
