After a slight decline in 2024, remote work is once again on the rise in Italy. According to research conducted by the Smart Working Observatory at the Polytechnic University of Milan, approximately 3,575,000 employees work remotely for at least a portion of their time in 2025, representing a 0.6% increase from the previous year. The public sector saw the highest increase, +11%, with 555,000 employees now working remotely, accounting for 17% of all public administration staff. Large businesses also reported an increase (+1.8%), with 53% of their workforce (1,945,000 employees) now working remotely. On the other hand, the trend was reversed in small and medium-sized enterprises, where remote workers experienced a substantial decline (-7.7% in SMEs and -4.8% in microenterprises) and now account for only 8% of the total. Smart working efforts are in place in nearly all large Italian enterprises (95%, unchanged from last year) and 67% of public administrations (6 points higher than in 2024), typically with organized programs with defined policies or guidelines.