- While U.S. bosses drag workers back to their desks following Amazon’s seismic return-to-office mandate last year—even monitoring badge swipes to do it—Londoners are quietly winning the work-life balance war. Nearly 50% of job listings in the UK still offer some form of remote work, according to LinkedIn data. That’s music to the ears of Gen Z, working moms, and anyone with a hellish commute.
For the first time since the pandemic, the majority of Fortune 100 companies now have a fully in-office policy for their employees.
Starbucks is the latest to signal the end of pandemic-era flexibility: Its CEO Brian Niccol—who had been working remotely himself—recently bought a house in Seattle and is now calling staff into HQ at least four days a week, even offering to pay off those who won’t relocate.
But for those not keen on uprooting their lives just to spend eight hours a day in a cubicle, London still offers a lifeline.
According to new LinkedIn data, which was exclusively shared with Fortune, nearly 50% of job postings in the UK advertise some form of remote work—a figure that dwarfs the 20% currently on offer in the U.S., the lowest among the major economies surveyed.
While corporate America doubles down on mandatory face time, Britain is quietly emerging as the global capital of hybrid work.
The UK offers more flexibility than even France and Italy
The percentage of hybrid job postings on LinkedIn in June 2025
- United Kingdom: 40.1%
- France: 26.7%
- Germany: 28.7%
- Italy: 30.8%
- Ireland: 36.4%
- Israel: 38.9%
- United Arab Emirates: 16.2%
- India: 19.0%
- Australia: 31.4%
- United States: 13.1%
The percentage of fully remote job postings on LinkedIn in June 2025:
- United Kingdom: 9.0%
- France: 3.1%
- Germany: 6.4%
- Italy: 5.3%
- Ireland: 9.6%
- Israel: 3.1%
- United Arab Emirates: 3.7%
- India: 10.6%
- Australia: 4.9%
- United States: 8.6%
The UK currently has the highest share of roles still offering some form of remote work globally. According to LinkedIn’s data, a staggering 40% of roles advertised on the careers platform in June were hybrid and a further 9% were fully remote.
And contrary to the common assumption that hybrid and remote working is dying a slow death, in Britain, the opposite is actually true: In January 2024, 37% of roles in the UK were hybrid, highlighting a slow (3%) uptick in such roles since.
By comparison, in other major European economies like France and Italy, around a third of roles offer hybrid work; however, they are experiencing a roughly 10% year-on-year decline in hybrid and remote job postings.
So, for the hundreds of thousands of Americans looking to flee the U.S., the UK actually offers more flexibility than France or Italy—without the language barrier. You’ll just have to give up the dream of a €1 villa.
Although the study was based on the UK, its capital London dominates job growth—and as Tamara Basic Vasiljev, the head economist for EMEA at LinkedIn, told Fortune, the city offers a unique blend of economic pressures and infrastructure quirks that make hybrid work stick.
“The UK’s position is influenced by its service-oriented economy, with London playing a dominant role as a global services hub,” she explained, adding that office space is expensive and so too are train tickets, leaving many living in the suburbs.
“These factors have likely contributed to making hybrid work more attractive and practical in the United Kingdom than in many comparable countries.”
It perhaps explains why Amazon—the tech giant that sparked the domino effect across corporate America after being the first major company to crack down on remote work—has reportedly been forced to take a softer stance in Britain.
Hybrid job ads are more popular
In today’s tight talent market, flexibility sells. According to LinkedIn’s data, job advertisements offering hybrid working attract up to three times more applications than those requiring full-time office attendance. That makes keeping hybrid offerings not just a perk, but a powerful recruitment tool.
And it’s not hard to see why. People have moved further than ever from their offices. Research last year by Trainline showed the number of people spending more than three hours getting to work and back—otherwise known as “super-commuting”—doubled since before the pandemic.
It’s not just that workers don’t want to endure hours on end on public transport. With inflation high but wages low, some unemployed Gen Z grads can’t actually afford the commute, and are having to turn down work for that reason.
And then there’s working parents who have been able to better juggle pickups, drop-offs, and the rising cost of childcare, by being able to work from home—even a few days a week can make the difference between staying in a job or being one of the hundreds of thousands of moms who were forced to leave the workforce as in-office working has picked up again.
Ultimately, British firms may not match U.S. paychecks—but in a world where flexibility is the new currency, it could be enough to lure top talent across the pond.
Have you considered moving to the U.K. for more work-life balance? Or have you already made the move? Fortune wants to hear from you: orianna.royle@fortune.com
