The Covid-19 pandemic has caused home working on a scale like no other. Just over a third of people (35%) worked exclusively from home in January 2021, up from 5% in 2019.1 This huge, unintended experiment has dramatically catalysed the trend towards more remote working, proving its feasibility on a scale many had previously doubted.

As we prepare for a further easing of restrictions at the end of June, much of the focus has been on the economic impacts on city centres, some of which are already preparing to transfer office space into housing.3 In Post Pandemic Places (2021) Demos argued this economic trend should be capitalised on, with remote working acting as a key lever for levelling up places outside of city centres post-pandemic.

The impact of home working on individuals, however, has been underrepresented in the policy debate. How have the 30%, who’ve had to transform the way they work almost overnight, fared during the pandemic? Drawing on data collected by Demos’ Renew Normal: The People’s Commission on Life after Covid-19 that reached over 50,000 citizens, we have sought to better understand employees’ experiences of working from home during the pandemic - the benefits, challenges and future opportunities.