Remote work is becoming the norm around the world. It refers to the ability for working professionals to do their jobs outside of traditional brick-and-mortar office settings. With the internet and powerful collaboration tools that are available today, it is easier than ever to correspond and work digitally alongside people in different states, countries and time zones. With the rise of the COVID-19 pandemic, this trend has accelerated sharply. Many companies had to adjust to the new reality of people no longer being able to safely come into crowded workspaces, so they began to allow people to work remotely—from home, coffee shops, libraries, hotel lobbies, etc. 

Companies like Facebook and Microsoft quickly responded to the pandemic by announcing that employees would be able to work from home for the foreseeable future. And some other companies, including Twitter and Square, responded by announcing that employees would simply be able to work from home permanently. These are companies with offices not only in the United States but around the globe, and this shift to remote work represents a drastic change in how we have traditionally worked for many decades. The number of industries adapting to the reality of remote work is growing rapidly every day, and like it or not, remote work is here to stay. In the U.S. it is estimated that remote work has saved workers around 89 million hours each week in commuting since the pandemic began, which is equal to more than 44.5 million full workdays.