US Companies Unprepared for COVID-19 Mandated Remote Work

NICOSIA, CYPRUS — People are working longer hours, in the wake of the global coronavirus pandemic and the mass increase in remote work. New data from NordVPN Teams, a cybersecurity solution for business from VPN service provider NordVPN, show not only a massive spike in business VPN usage but also people working on average two hours longer than usual.

The US increased its average workday by almost 40%, adding an extra three hours — the largest jump worldwide. The UK, France, Canada, and Spain are seeing a two hour increase.

Remote Workers Start Earlier

“The data as well revealed that employees are starting work earlier, but finishing at the same time. This is perhaps because people are not commuting, and instead of sitting in traffic, they choose to work,” explains Daniel Markuson, a digital privacy expert at NordVPN Teams.

Business VPN usage skyrocketed in Canada, Austria, and the Netherlands, growing by over 200%. Interestingly, Italians showed a modest 10% growth, which coincided with a widely-reported spike in usage on home networks, many of which might lack the necessary protection for remote work.

The UK seems to be preparing the most. NordVPN Teams sales in the country grew by 400%, highlighting a growing trend: companies need powerful cloud-based security to go remote.

Companies Only Prepared for 10% Remote Workforce

“The sharp increase seen by NordVPN Teams once again shows how unprepared companies are for such situations. According to Gartner, large corporations with 10,000 people or more can accommodate only 10% of their employees to work from home,” says Daniel Markuson, the digital privacy expert at NordVPN Teams.

According to Daniel Markuson, cloud-based VPNs are becoming extremely popular due to their simple ‘plug & play’ set up. New clients can be set up quickly, and more importantly, remotely. For example, NordVPN Teams are setting up, on average, 200 users per hour. “Another important aspect is that NordVPN Teams is operating at less than 20% server capacity. We keep connecting new servers to satisfy the growing demand,” explains NordVPN Teams expert