Want to work from home? These European countries are the most open to hybrid or remote work

The Netherlands is the European Union country with the highest proportion of workers working remotely, according to new research.

The COVID-19 pandemic saw a radical shift in the number of people working remotely, with lockdowns and restrictions forcing companies to adopt flexible working policies.

Remote, a global HR solutions company, has now mapped the rise in remote work across the European Union from the start of the pandemic in 2020 to the end of 2022.

The research showed that on average across the EU, 30 per cent of workers regularly worked from home last year (either fully remotely or in a hybrid model), compared to just over 15 per cent in the United Kingdom.

Using data from Eurostat and Statista, Remote also revealed that 65 per cent of the working population in the Netherlands worked at least partially remotely in 2022.

The Netherlands is way out in front, with Luxembourg coming in second place with 54.4 per cent, and Sweden third with 51.8 per cent.

Here is a look at the top 10 countries with the highest share of remote workers in the EU.

The data used was collected in August 2022. Remote also made predictions about the proportion of remote workers for the top five EU countries for 2023.

The company predicts nearly 10 per cent more workers will work remotely this year in the Netherlands - bringing the total to 73.5 per cent, while Luxembourg’s share of remote or hybrid workers will rise to 60.6 per cent, and Sweden to 56.4 per cent.

Ireland is predicted to see a large rise to 61.6 per cent, as is Belgium, to 56.1 per cent.

The proportion of remote workers in the Netherlands is four times higher than in the UK or the United States, according to the data.

Last summer, the Dutch parliament approved legislation to establish