Flex Report: Enterprise Deep Dive

About the Enterprise Deep Dive

In March 2024, we marked four years since COVID-19 first led to lockdowns and shelter-in-place requirements in the United States. For many, it was their first experience working remotely, and it has had a profound impact on the work practices of companies in all industries and sizes.

Four years later, with COVID-19 no longer top of mind for most on a daily basis, you might think company-specific approaches to flexible work would have settled. Yet week after week, we see new announcements of changes in flexible work policy or implementation of flexible work policy; companies continue to iterate as they look to find the right approach and best practices for them.

When we look at the base of companies in the United States, it might surprise you to know how few companies have more than 1,000 employees. There are more than 6,000,000 firms in the US; less than 10,000 of them have more than 1,000 employees. Put differently, enterprise employers (1,000+ employees) represent just 0.1% of US companies.

At the same time, the enterprise has an outsized impact on total employment. Enterprises employ more than 10% of working Americans and have an even bigger role in establishing policy and best practices. Many small companies aspire to one day be enterprises and often model everything from compensation to benefits to business practices after the behaviors of large employers.

So, four years post-COVID-19, what’s the current state of flexible work in the enterprise? We compiled data on more than 2,200 US-headquartered enterprises that employ more than 50,000,000 people around the world to see how policy is trending for corporate employees at large companies. We also look at how policy and required days in office vary by size of the enterprise and industry.