Telework survey: towards a mass exodus of residents from Île-de-France?

Contact : Tom Dubois

Méthod

This survey was conducted online in December 2022 among a total sample of 9,057 individuals, representative of the working population of mainland France aged 18 to 64 - including 1,000 "teleworkers from Île-de-France," defined here as all working people, excluding freelancers, who are employed in companies located in Île-de-France and who, at the time of the survey, teleworked at least part of the week.

The result:

Main figures concerning teleworkers in Île-de-France

• 46% of workers in Île-de-France telework on a regular basis, which amounts to approximately 2.5 million workers
• 71% of teleworkers now spend a maximum of 3 days at their workplace each week
• 20% of teleworkers in Île-de-France want to leave the region within the next five years
• 43% would not have the same relocation plans and 20% would not want to move at all if they did not telework
• 66% of those who want to move are aiming to relocate to the south and west of France

1) A new organisation linked to the practice of telework

According to the Mobile Lives Forum survey, 46% of workers in Île-de-France now telework on a regular basis. This amounts to approximately 2.5 million workers.

For 71% of them, it has become normal to spend more time at home than at work each week, since by teleworking at least two days a week they now spend at least four days out of seven at home.

> Impact of telework on the travel habits of teleworkers in Île-de-France

On teleworking days, teleworkers in Île-de-France cycle more: 13% cycle when they go to their workplace compared to 33% who cycle for their daily trips when they are working from home.

Unsurprisingly, there has been a radical decrease in car use: 43% drive a car on days when they are at the office versus 16% on days at home.

> Towards a new social organisation

Nearly one in five teleworkers now regularly sleep away from home on the days when they go to their workplace. This figure rises to one in two among those who live outside Île-de-France but who come to work in the region.

And in half of the cases, nights spent away from home are managed informally (non-commercial arrangements): staying with friends or family.

2) The survey confirms the influence of telework on the relocation plans of residents in Île-de-France

>Relocations since the pandemic: a trend towards moving further away

20% of Île-de-France teleworkers have moved since the start of the 2020 pandemic and among them, 16% have left Île-de-France (that is around 3% of all teleworkers).

On a regional scale, the trend is clearly to move away from the centre of Île-de-France towards its peripheries: Parisians going to live in the suburbs or residents of the inner suburbs moving to the outer suburbs.

>A trend that could increase in the next 5 years

39% of teleworkers in Île-de-France plan to move within the next five years and over half of them plan to move away from Île-de-France (53%): one in five teleworkers wishes to leave Île-de-France within the next 5 years.

It is estimated that this represents more than 500,000 households, each with an average of 2.4 residents, making a potential total of 1.2 million people who could leave the region within five years.

>Telework has a significant impact on relocation plans

38% of workers in Île-de-France who plan to relocate would not be making such plans if they did not telework, and 15% would not want to move at all.

This impact is even stronger among those wishing to leave Île-de-France, as 43% of them would not have the same plans without telework and 20% would not wish to move at all.

>The main motivations of teleworkers in Île-de-France

These relocations are motivated by the desire for space and nature, with the goal of “having a home with an outdoor space,” “having a larger home” and “living in an environment that’s closer to nature.”

>Where would they go?

In line with the migration patterns of recent years, 66% of teleworkers from Île-de-France who want to move are aiming for the south and west of France: Brittany, Pays de la Loire, Nouvelle Aquitaine, Occitania, Provence Alpes Côte d’Azur.

Medium-sized cities are the most attractive (40%), ahead of small towns and villages on the outskirts of large cities (32%).

This second part of the survey therefore confirms the trends found in the first. Here, you can find the results of the first survey on the effects of telework on relocation plans in Île-de-France: Does teleworking allow people to leave Île-de-France? Part one.

Download the full results (in French only)

Teleworking

The remote performance of a salaried activity outside of the company’s premises, at home or in a third place during normal working hours and requiring access to telecommunication tools.

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