Hypothetical scenario · estimate
Scenario: two remote work days a week for office jobs
We assume everyone in an office job that can be done from home works two days a week remotely and spends the other days at the office.
3.7 millionemployed in office jobs that can be done remotely
423.0 millioncommute hours saved per year
592.3 millionpetrol litres not used per year (estimate)
Possible gains
- People with long trips to the office: working from home saved about 72 minutes a day in a study covering 27 countries.[2]
- In a 6-month randomized trial (two days a week at home), quits fell by about a third, with no effect on performance reviews or promotions.[1]
- Working mothers: in US degrees where home working grew, the employment gap between mothers and other women narrowed (working paper, not yet peer-reviewed).[3]
Possible costs
- Shops and cafés near office districts: in US cities part of activity and spending moved from the centre to the outskirts as remote work spread.[4]
- Collaboration between teams: when all work went remote at one large firm, collaboration between different groups fell by about a quarter.[5]
- In a large firm's call centre, call quality and promotion rates fell for those who moved to fully remote work, which is more than two days a week.[6]
The balance (estimate)
Clearest gainers: office staff with long commutes, working mothers, and employers with high staff turnover.
Clearest costs fall on: Clearest cost-bearers: shop and café owners and workers near offices, and new staff who learn through face-to-face contact.
Strength of evidence: medium — Studies and trials from other countries, including one randomized hybrid-work trial; there is no direct Saudi measurement of this effect.