More than one in four Scots are working from home, a survey has shown.
Some 27 per cent of Scots said they worked from home last year, Transport Scotland found, up 2 per cent from 2024.
Working from home became the norm during the pandemic but rates have not fallen to anywhere near their 2019 level of 16 per cent.
The survey of Scotland's travel habits also disclosed driving is the most common mode of transport, making up half of journeys last year, with walking in second place.
More people are catching the bus and taking the train but daily or almost-daily use of the rail network remained lower than it was pre-pandemic.
Covid has cast a long shadow over Scotland and for years retailers have been feeling the impact of workers abandoning the office.
Working from home became the norm during the pandemic
David Lonsdale, director at the Scottish Retail Consortium, said: 'Retail destinations were hit hard by the exodus of office workers during Covid. Even now the number of visits to Scottish stores is about a tenth below pre-pandemic levels.
'Partly this is due to some commuters no longer travelling as frequently into larger conurbations.
'All this has implications for the investment that retailers make in our city centres. City centre retailing can be a springboard for the economy to bounce back but for that to happen there needs to be a concerted effort to bring energy and footfall back and to cut the cost of operating a retail business in these locations.'
Despite the figures being for the whole population, concerns have been raised about the number of civil servants who work from home, with the Scottish Conservatives demanding the SNP get a grip of the situation.
Craig Hoy, Scottish Tory finance spokesman, said: 'Working from home cannot become an excuse for reduced productivity, especially when taxpayers foot the bill.
'Public services depend on civil servants being where they are needed. Government employees should be leading by example by working from taxpayer-funded buildings rather than retreating from view.
'The SNP should end this culture that has become the norm among their army of civil servants and get more people back to their offices, for the sake of the economy.'
Last month it was reported the government had ordered civil servants back to the office for at least two days a week, with Permanent Secretary Joe Griffin telling staff he saw 'huge value in a balanced hybrid approach'.
It comes after more than 9,000 core civil servants were first asked to work from the office at least two days, or 40 per cent, per week from October last year.
A Scottish Government spokesman said: 'Like many employers, the Scottish Government has a hybrid working policy.'
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