A major new study has confirmed what disabled workers and their advocates have long known: remote work isn't just a convenience — it's a lifeline. And as employers increasingly drag people back to the office, they're not just annoying commuters — they're systematically shutting disabled people out of the workforce.
The two-year Inclusive Remote and Hybrid Working Study from Lancaster University paints a stark picture. More than eight in ten disabled workers say access to home working is essential or very important when looking for a new job. Nearly half want to work remotely all the time — with disabled women and disabled carers most likely to need full-time homeworking.
These aren't preferences. These are necessities.
Yet the job market is moving in exactly the wrong direction.
Analysis of Adzuna vacancy data shows that in the 2024-25 financial year, only one in 23 job adverts offered fully remote work — just 4.3%, half the level seen during the pandemic peak. Growth in hybrid roles has stalled too, with only one in seven positions offering hybrid options.
The consequences are already visible — and devastating.
Official figures show disabled people are now twice as likely to be unemployed as non-disabled people, with 547,000 disabled workers now out of work — an increase of 110,000 in just one year. As the Work Foundation notes, unemployment has risen far more quickly for disabled people than anyone else.
This isn't a coincidence. This is what happens when workplaces become inaccessible.
The study found that 64% of disabled workers who work fully remotely said their pattern positively affected their physical health, compared with just 31% of those working remotely less than half the time. Remote work means managing chronic conditions, conserving energy, avoiding painful commutes, and having the flexibility to rest when needed.
For workers like Vera, a woman in her 20s with multiple sclerosis, remote work isn't a lifestyle choice — it's what keeps her employed at all. Following stem cell treatment, she cannot return to frontline work. "Remote work has made it possible for me to stay in employment — without it I couldn't work," she says. "Working from home means I can manage cognitive fatigue and rest during lunch breaks so I can stay productive."
But Vera also captures the anxiety so many disabled workers now face: "I feel stuck, as there are so few remote-only roles. These are realistically the only roles I can apply for if I want to keep working and progress in my career."
Only 1.6% of disabled workers want to stop working from home entirely. The demand is there. The supply is collapsing.
This isn't just bad for disabled workers — it's bad for everyone. At a time when the government claims it wants to get people working, employers are actively dismantling the very arrangements that make work possible for hundreds of thousands of people. A recent House of Lords report warned ministers they must ensure remote and hybrid working is prioritised to boost disabled people's employment. That warning must be heeded.
The pandemic proved that remote work works. It proved that trust doesn't require presenteeism, and that productivity doesn't depend on being physically observed. Employers who now demand returns to the office aren't making a neutral business decision — they're making a choice about who gets to work and who gets left behind.
Lead researcher Paula Holland put it plainly: "Companies mandating people to return to the office have seen remote-only opportunities plummet and this could prevent some disabled workers from returning and staying in work. Disabled workers report that access to suitable home-working roles can be the difference between working or not working."
That difference matters. Work is dignity, income, purpose, and community. When we close the door on remote work, we close the door on disabled workers — and we all lose as a result.
The fight for remote work is a fight for disability justice. It's a fight for inclusion, for accessibility, and for the simple principle that work should adapt to workers — not the other way around.
Source: The Guardian