The COVID-19 virus, which has been plaguing all of humanity since 2020. Even though the pandemic was declared endemic in 2023, it is impossible to completely return to life before the pandemic. Now, we are accustomed to non-face-to-face lifestyles, so we don't even need to meet delivery people when we receive deliveries, and we don't need to talk to clerks when we order food at stores.

This non-face-to-face lifestyle has had a significant impact on the working styles of office workers. Many companies have maintained the work-from-home policy that was introduced to prevent the spread of COVID-19 even after the endemic. According to one statistic, about 20% of companies are still implementing work-from-home policies after the return to normalcy. While it may not be possible to work from home 100% as during the COVID-19 pandemic, the "hybrid" work style, which combines commuting and working from home, is also being widely adopted.

In fact, many companies believe that the hybrid approach increases work efficiency. The reason for the increased work efficiency is probably because it eliminates the need to expend unnecessary energy on commuting. However, did you know that working from home does not just save energy from our bodies? There is a surprising research finding that working from home can reduce carbon emissions by half.

In 2023, Cornell University and Microsoft in the United States published a research paper that showed that working from home 100% can reduce carbon emissions by up to 54%. This result appears to be due to the fact that working from home eliminates the need for commuting, resulting in a sharp decrease in vehicle use. Even though electric vehicles are becoming increasingly common, internal combustion engine vehicles still dominate, so vehicle use appears to have a significant impact on carbon emissions.

It is said that working from home 2-4 days a week can reduce carbon emissions by up to 29%. It is noteworthy that working from home only once a week has an effect of only 2%. The researchers believe that this is because the energy used at home offsets the reduction in energy consumption for a day of work from home.

From this, we can realize that simply working from home will not dramatically reduce carbon emissions. What we really need to focus on is not "working from home itself", but the "reason" why carbon emissions decrease when we work from home.

In other words, we need to pay attention to the way we commute, not commuting itself. Even if you commute, you can reduce carbon emissions by using public transportation instead of a private car. Conversely, even if you work from home, you will not see the effect of reducing carbon emissions if you use a car for non-work activities after work.

Another reason why carbon emissions decrease when working from home is that it reduces the energy used in the office. This, too, should not be focused on just the results. Even if you work from home, if you use a lot of energy, such as electricity and gas, the effect on carbon emissions will be minimal. Conversely, even if you work in the office, using energy-efficient products can significantly reduce carbon emissions.

Ultimately, what we should learn from this research is that lifestyle is more important than work style. If you make it a habit to use public transportation and carefully manage your energy consumption on a daily basis, you can help the environment no matter what work style you choose. Keep this in mind.