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Working from home removed one of our most reliable movement habits. This is how to bring it back without returning to the office.
Remote and hybrid working have transformed the way many of us work. Today, 27% of working adults now follow a hybrid pattern[1], while 14% work fully remotely[2].
Millions of Brits no longer make the daily journey into the office, gaining more flexibility, time, and less commuting stress. But while the benefits are clear, one consequence has largely gone unnoticed: the commute wasn't just a way to get to work, it was also a built-in source of daily movement.
Although each journey may seem insignificant on its own, these small bursts of activity add up and can play an important role in supporting physical health and helping people stay active. Our latest analysis reveals just how much incidental exercise people have lost by not commuting as much, from the steps and miles once covered on foot to the time spent active each day, and the calories burnt along the way.
We call this The Movement Commute: the movement that naturally occurs as part of travelling to and from work. As commuting habits continue to evolve, understanding what we've lost is the first step towards finding new ways to build movement back into our everyday routines.
The daily commute is often viewed as time lost, but it also provides an opportunity for regular, incidental movement. Whether it's walking to the station, climbing stairs, or nipping to the shop for lunch, these small bursts of activity accumulate over time. To understand what's being lost as more people work from home, we analysed commuting-related activity across office-based, hybrid, and remote workers.
Our analysis revealed:
The daily commute does more than simply get us to work; it provides routine, structure, and a clear transition between home and work. As more people have shifted to remote and hybrid working, many of these hidden benefits have quietly disappeared. As walking coach, Ludgina Dieujuste, explains:
"People often underestimate incidental movement because it doesn't feel like exercise. Walking to the train, climbing stairs, going to lunch, and moving around the office may seem insignificant individually, but these activities add up.
"When commuting is removed, people are often surprised by how many daily steps disappear. What felt like 'just getting through the day' was actually contributing significantly to their overall activity level."
This type of activity is often referred to as non-exercise activity thermogenesis (NEAT), the energy we expend through everyday movement outside of structured exercise. Research has found that NEAT can vary by as much as 2,000 kcal per day between individuals, highlighting how routine daily activities can make a substantial contribution to overall energy expenditure[3].
While a morning run or evening gym session remains valuable, it doesn't fully offset the effects of spending most of the day sitting. Regular movement throughout the day plays a distinct role in supporting long-term health.
As Dieujuste explains: "Going to the gym is fantastic, but for most people, it represents only 30 to 90 minutes of their day. Even someone who exercises regularly can still spend the majority of their waking hours sitting.
"Daily movement improves circulation, blood sugar regulation, joint mobility, posture, energy levels, and mental well-being. It also helps reduce the negative effects of sitting for long periods. Think of exercise as a workout for your body, while daily movement is what keeps your body functioning optimally throughout the entire day."
The movement lost through commuting isn't just measured in steps. Over the course of a year, men who work in the office full-time burn an average of 27,370 more calories than those who work remotely, while women burn around 21,390.
While slightly less for hybrid workers, there is still a considerable difference. Men who work from home three days per week burn 16,422 fewer than those who work five days a week, while women on the same schedule burn 12,834 fewer calories.
These calorie gaps are driven solely by commuting-related movement, highlighting just how much activity can be built into our routines simply from travelling to and from work.
But the impact isn't just physical. The additional movement associated with commuting often translates into enough daily activity to support wellbeing. Research shows that just 20 minutes of physical activity each day can help reduce the risk of depression[4], suggesting the movement built into a daily commute was doing far more than simply getting us to work. It provided a simple, consistent habit that supported mental wellbeing too.
The idea of The Movement Commute is simple: to recreate the physical and mental benefits of a traditional commute, without needing to return to the office. It's about intentionally reintroducing short bursts of walking across the day to restore structure, transition time, and incidental movement that working life once naturally provided.
As walking coach Ludgina Dieujuste explains: "The goal shouldn't simply be to exercise once and sit the rest of the day. The goal should be to move consistently throughout the day."
Rather than being time-consuming, this approach is designed to be realistic and flexible, made up of small walks that support both body and mind.
How to build your movement commute
Rise & Stride (25 minutes before work)
Helps boost alertness, improve mood, and tell your body and mind the working day is starting. Morning sunlight exposure may also support circadian rhythm and energy regulation.
Midday Move (15 minutes after lunch)
Breaks up prolonged sitting, supports digestion, and helps reduce the post-lunch energy dip while improving focus, creativity, and productivity for the afternoon.
Decompress & Digest (20 minutes after work or dinner)
Creates a clear separation between work and personal time, aids in digestion and helps to reduce stress and support better sleep.
Together, these three short walks can recreate much of what was once built into the daily commute. Not just the steps, but the structure, transition, and mental reset that came with it.
The most effective way to adopt The Movement Commute is to treat it as a structured part of the working day, which doesn't rely on motivation, but on routine.
To support this, we've created a reminder tool that allows people to add movement breaks directly into their calendar, creating scheduled reminders for their morning, midday, and evening walks.
By treating these as fixed points in the day, movement hopefully becomes easier to maintain and naturally embedded into the work routine.
Designed for Brits working from home on a remote or hybrid schedule, The Movement Commute helps you build healthy walking habits that might have been lost back into your day. Choose your phone below and we'll drop all three walks directly into your calendar app.
Downloads one calendar file (.ics) with all three walks, repeating daily (GMT) starting today for the next 10 weeks: 25 min at 07:30, 15 min at 13:00, and 20 min at 19:00. Open the downloaded file to import it into your device's calendar app — on iPhone, tap it to add all events to Calendar; on Android, open it with Google Calendar.
Sources:
[1] ONS
[2] UK Parliament
[3] PubMed
[4] BMJ
Methodology:
This analysis compares the daily movement of office-based and home-based workers using a meta-analysis of international studies examining differences in step counts between the two groups. UK remote and hybrid working figures were sourced
from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
Using the average difference in daily steps, we estimated the additional distance walked and calories burned over a working day, week and year. Calorie estimates were calculated using average UK height and weight data for men and women from official national statistics.
About Ludgina Dieujuste: Ludgina Dieujuste is a walking and running coach, certified with the RRCA. She has a YouTube channel that has a library of walking content for all levels. She's passionate about helping her community to become stronger and better with each passing day. Ludgina loves to help others realize that fitness is a life-long journey and can be started at any age. Through cardio, strength, and proper nutrition you can change your life one day at a time.
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