Home working more popular mainly among women

In 2017, there were over 3 million Dutch workers who engaged in occasional or regular home working, equivalent to nearly 37 percent of the total workforce. This was still 34 percent in 2013. Men are more likely to work from home than women, but the gap has narrowed in recent years. In 2017, the shares were 38 and 35 percent respectively compared to 37 versus nearly 32 percent in 2013.

More women regularly work from home

The increase in the number of women working from home was mainly seen in regular home-based work, i.e. work which is usually carried out from home. There are also occasional home workers; they typically work at another location away from home, but occasionally - whether on fixed days weekly or not – work from home. This group has also grown slightly among working women. Among men, the share of occasional home workers increased slightly between 2013 and 2017 while the share of regular home workers remained virtually unchanged.

Mainly more home workers among self-employed women

Regular home working is relatively more widespread among the self-employed (in Dutch, the so-called zzp’ers). Furthermore, the increase in the share of women is mainly seen in this group: from 48 percent in 2013 to 56 percent in 2017. In addition, more women in permanent employment became home workers in 2017, both on a regular (9 percent) and on an occasional basis (28 percent). In 2013, these shares amounted to 6 and 25 percent respectively.

Most female home workers active in creative and linguistic occupations

When broken down by occupational class, the majority of female home workers is seen in creative or linguistic jobs, namely 71 percent. Similarly large groups are women in managerial (70 percent) or ICT-related (68 percent) positions. Among men who work from home, the largest groups are those in ICT-related jobs (69 percent) and in education (68 percent).