Bay Area Leads U.S. and World in Embracing Remote Work, Surveys Reveal

April 25 — White-collar employees in the Bay Area are currently commuting for around three days each week. According to recent surveys, most businesses have no intentions of requiring additional workdays at the physical office, as indicated by fresh statistics.

According to a survey conducted by the Bay Area Council involving 236 predominantly white-collar companies, nearly two-thirds of office-bound workers went to their places of employment for three consecutive days: Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday.

Initially, when the council started assessing companies regarding remote work in October 2021, employees were typically present at their offices for an average of 2.3 days each month.

About 40% of companies responding to the February survey said they had mandated increased in-office days over the previous six months, but only 22% said they planned to boost the number over the following six months.

Nonetheless, organizations employing 1,000 or more individuals showed a much higher inclination toward implementing compulsory presence in the workplace within the upcoming six months, according to Abby Raisz, research director at the Economic Institute of the Bay Area Council. This council advocates for enterprises such as prominent technology corporations from Silicon Valley like Google, Meta, and Apple.

Among companies making efforts to bring workers back to offices, some ask and some tell, with differing results, Raisz said.

We discovered that policies mandating employee presence are perceived as highly effective," Raisz stated. "In contrast, requests for such measures tend to be seen as less effective.

The information arrives amid backlash against returning-to-work directives issued by local and state governments. In Oakland, unionized municipal staff were initially instructed to report to their workplaces for four days beginning in early April; however, this requirement was pushed back to June 2. Similarly, in San Francisco, Mayor Daniel Lurie postponed a comparable four-day directive scheduled for April 28 to August 18, as reported by regional news outlets. Governor Gavin Newsom’s edict requiring state personnel to be present at the office for four days has provoked discontent among both employees and a state workplace oversight body.

A small graph indicates that merely one-fourth of Bay Area firms mandate their staff to be physically present in the office for at least five days weekly. The COVID-19 pandemic significantly disrupted daily routines and corporate staffing strategies when the surge forced those accustomed to office environments to shift to home setups, prompting numerous individuals to embrace the convenience of not commuting. As the health crisis subsided, however, various organizations reverted toward traditional workplace settings; notably, in 2022, Google—a major player in digital advertising based in Mountain View—directed most of its workforce to return to physical offices three times per week, followed suit by several counterparts.

Bobby Khullar from Danville is employed at an engineering, design, and construction firm based in Walnut Creek, which mandates being present at the office for three or four days each week.

It’s acceptable, but if I could choose freely, I’d prefer to work remotely,” stated Khullar, who is 50 years old. He mentioned that his interactions with clients usually happen through video calls, so there isn’t much necessity for him to be in an office setting.

“If the cameras are rolling, you only need to prepare the upper part of your body and you’re good to go,” Khullar stated.

A recent worldwide study involving tens of thousands of employees across 40 nations revealed that the U.S. follows closely behind Canada in terms of the number of individuals telecommuting.

In the period from November to February, Americans averaged about 1.8 workdays per week working remotely, which is just below Canada’s figure of two days, as reported by the Global Survey of Working Arrangements conducted jointly with Stanford University economist Nicholas Bloom.

These figures represent the "blended" approach that has gained popularity in English-speaking nations following the pandemic.

“Working hybrid from home proves highly advantageous for companies,” stated Bloom, who worked alongside researchers from the U.S., Europe, and Mexico on this study. “This setup cuts down on recruitment and retention expenses without affecting output.” According to Bloom, combining remote and office work is “definitely here to remain.”

Raisz said remote work has gained and maintained traction in the Bay Area because major industries like technology involve large numbers of jobs that can be done from home. Also, many companies recognize that many employees live far from the office, with time-consuming and costly commutes, and offer flexible schedules, Raisz said. That gives workers more power to leave jobs that force them into the office more than they would like, she said.

Sharon He from San Francisco, who is employed by an insurance company based in New York City, assisted in getting her audit team excused from a corporate directive requiring them to be present in the office for a minimum of four days each week.

He, who is 31 years old, stated, 'Due to that policy, we were unable to employ anyone.' He added, 'It's essential for us to stay competitive.'

In Silicon Valley, "the hybrid model appears to have prevailed," Bloom stated via email earlier this week. According to Bloom, most technology and financial companies in the area now operate under a hybrid setup where staff members usually visit their offices for two or three days each week. Both managers and workers seem satisfied with this arrangement as it allows them to maintain high levels of productivity. Full-time remote work has largely faded away except among a small number of individuals who still prefer it due to pandemic-related reasons or because they are top-tier programmers.

At the same time, an uproar is escalating regarding Governor Newsom’s executive order issued in March, which requires state employees to be present at their offices four days per week starting July 1st. In this directive, Newsom highlighted improved “collaboration, cohesion, creativity, and communication” as well as increased chances for mentoring, oversight, and responsibility when staff members work collectively in-office.

However, on April 17, the state Public Employment Relations Board, responsible for overseeing union-related legislation affecting state workers, made a tentative ruling suggesting that Newsom’s office violated state law by not consulting with an engineering union — which had lodged a complaint regarding the directive — prior to issuing it. This case will proceed before an administrative law judge.

By Thursday, opponents of the order had raised over $16,000 through crowdfunding to put up a billboard in Sacramento featuring a laughing Newsom alongside the message, "Think traffic is bad now? Just wait till July 1st."

Newsom's office referred questions to the state's human resources department, which declined to comment.

The number of people doing their jobs from home varies widely around the world, the Global Survey of Working Arrangements found. In Latin American countries where workers were surveyed, the rate of working from home was much lower than in the U.S., with an average of one day in Mexico and 1.4 days in Brazil. Asian countries had the lowest rates, with China, Japan and South Korean workers spending on average less than one day a week remote. In India, the working-from-home average came in at 1.6 days a week.

In a January presentation to the American Economics Association, Bloom broke down working-from-home by industry, saying finance and insurance workers did the most remote work, at about 2.4 days a week, with information workers — including some tech employees — following close behind at about 2.3 days. In retail, hospitality and food services, which require many on-site workers, the average was less than one day a week.

Bloom highlighted the commuting issue that has driven much of the conflict between employees and employers, telling the economists' group that workers save 70 minutes on average every day they do their jobs from home. Another 10 minutes a day of time savings comes from being able to work without showering, donning fresh clothing, shaving or putting on makeup, Bloom said.

Bloom pointed out that remote work has led to the decline of city centers across numerous U.S. cities. As per Kastle Systems, which gathers office occupancy rates based on badge usage for workplace entry, approximately 51% of seats were filled in the San Jose region by April 16, whereas just around 43% of spaces were utilized in the San Francisco area.

"Folks selling office space are not happy," Bloom noted.

Originally Published: April 25, 2025 at 4:12 PM PDT

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