National Work From Home Day is a holiday that’s observed annually on May 17th. This holiday has caused a bit of confusion over the past few years but is actually pretty easy to celebrate. It’s a day that encourages employers to allow workers who ordinarily have to come to the job site a chance to work from home.

That’s all there is to it. No, it’s not a holiday that celebrates freelance workers, who may already work from home, or remote workers, who work from home all the time. Of course, these workers aren’t forbidden from observing this holiday; it’s just that they have their own holidays that celebrate what they do. Namely, National Freelancers Day (observed in June) and Remote Employee Appreciation Day (observed in September).

The History of National Work From Home Day

Who invented this holiday, when did they invent it, and why did they invent it? Well, these are questions that we asked ourselves when we first began to research this holiday. And we spent a considerable amount of time trying to find the answers to those questions.

At first, we thought it was created by a worker who wanted a day away from the office, but we were unable to verify that information. It appears that this holiday isn’t well documented. What we do know is that it began sometime in the early 2010s and has been observed ever since.

Some Quick Facts About Working From Home

Since we know that some people checking out National Work From Home Day are simply interested in learning some new facts about working from home, we thought we’d compile some for all of our readers. Let’s take a few moments to check out the following facts about working from home before we move on with our article.

• Approximately a third of people polled say they have difficulty finding a good work/life balance while working from home.
• The average remote worker earns approximately $60,000 per year.
• Approximately 44% of the world’s companies don’t allow employees to work from home.

Observing National Work From Home Day

As the name so eloquently suggests, this is a day for people to work from home, and that’s what they should do if possible. Now, we’re not suggesting that anyone play hooky; obviously, this will require coordination with the person’s employer to achieve. But if it can be done, it should be done.

Of course, since we know that many people can’t work from home, they can celebrate this holiday in other ways. They can learn more about working from home, turn a spare room into a makeshift office, or simply spread the word about this holiday using the hashtag #WorkFromHomeDay online.