Press release: Remote work remains in demand

Remote work remains in demand: for more and more people, office life is no longer an option. Remote work pioneer Moneypenny celebrates 25 years, sees growing number of professionals choosing not to return to the office.

Door Lisette Immink

Op 15 July 2025

In de media

While more and more employers are requiring their staff to return to the office, a growing segment of the workforce is actively choosing – and in some cases needing – to continue working remotely. Remote work pioneer Moneypenny, now celebrating its 25th anniversary, recognises this shift all too well. “For many people, the obligation to be in the office is a barrier to participating in the workforce at all,” says founder Marianne Sturman.

Founded in 2000 as an alternative to traditional office life, Moneypenny introduced the concept of the virtual assistant – real people, not AI – who provide remote support to entrepreneurs and executives with diary management, communication, administration, and more. These first virtual assistants worked mainly from home to better combine work and caregiving responsibilities. “Even back then, we saw a clear need for work that could be done in your own time, from your own place. That was still quite unconventional at the time,” says Sturman.

Fast forward to 2025, and remote work has gone mainstream – accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic, the biggest remote work experiment in history. Yet despite this shift, many employers are returning to the old reflex of requiring physical presence in the office. Meanwhile, Moneypenny continues to see a broader and increasingly diverse group of people who are consciously choosing work without a fixed workplace.

This growing demand for flexibility is reflected in research: according to the Randstad Workmonitor 2025, 66% of Dutch employees want their job to offer flexibility in terms of work location.

Here are a few of the typical profiles we often see among the virtual assistants working through Moneypenny – each with their own motivations and need for flexibility:

The hybrid entrepreneur: A webshop owner, yoga instructor or walking coach who enjoys working independently but doesn’t (yet) earn a full income from their business.
The modern global citizen: People – both young and older – who want to live or travel location-independently, or spend part of the year abroad.
The caregiver or stay-at-home professional: Individuals with caring responsibilities or physical limitations for whom commuting daily is simply not feasible.
The conscious Gen Z’er: Young people who prioritise flexibility over full-time work, choosing to divide their time between work, personal growth and social impact.

Interest in flexible, remote working remains high. Each year, Moneypenny receives around 2,000 applications from people keen to work as virtual assistants. “That shows how popular this kind of work is,” says Sturman. “We select carefully and typically hire just two new VAs per month, but we’re always looking for the right people. For those who are proactive, independent and value freedom, it’s a fantastic opportunity.”

Although Moneypenny has worked fully remotely for 25 years – long before the days of Zoom or Slack – the concept is more relevant than ever. “It’s time we reframe how we think about work: not through control or presence, but through trust and autonomy. The labour market has changed – and so have the people in it.”

About Moneypenny
Since 2000, Moneypenny has specialised in remote support by experienced virtual assistants: real, professional PAs who work remotely to take the pressure off entrepreneurs and executives – from diary and inbox management to project support, admin and client communication. Moneypenny works exclusively with highly educated VAs with proven experience in support roles. This allows business owners to benefit from a professional right hand without the need for a fixed contract or office location – and gives VAs the freedom to shape their work in a way that suits them.