Teleworking & catering: how to adapt your offer in 2026?
02 January 2026
Has teleworking affected your restaurant's traffic?
Until a few years ago, telecommuting was not very common. Before 2020, only 4% of employees used it on a regular basis. The health crisis served as a gas pedal, with massive recourse to confinement, affecting almost a third of employees.
Since then, the practice has become part of the professional landscape and stabilized at around 22% of working people in 2024, with an average rate of 1.9 days per week.
This new rhythm of work has logically upset the catering industry, particularly the food service sector. traditional catering located in business districts. A return to face-to-face 100% is not on the agenda, the challenge for the coming years is to adapt your offer and sales channels to the expectations of this hybrid customer base.
Teleworking in France: who teleworks and when?
Who can telework?
Telecommuting primarily concerns office workers. Telecommuting predominantly concerns executives, while it remains somewhat more limited among white-collar workers and very rare among blue-collar workers. Entirely remote working remains in the minority, with only 4% of full remote employees.
This type of organization has developed in sectors where distance learning is compatible with the business, such as information, communication and finance. Conversely, it remains very limited in the healthcare, education and hotel/restaurant sectors.
Today, this level of distribution is enough to bring about a lasting change in working habits and, by extension, in the way people spend their lunch break.
What are the best days to telework?
Friday: the most teleworked day
No big surprise there, Fridays are the preferred day to telework. Many employees choose to stay at home to get through the week more smoothly, limit commuting and enjoy a little flexibility at the end of the day.
Monday: a smoother start to the week
Monday follows close on its heels. Starting the week remotely means a gradual resumption, with a calmer pace and avoiding Monday morning traffic jams.
Wednesday: "Children's Day
Wednesday is a separate day. For many parents, the organization of the day is adapted to the presence of children. Work revolves around family obligations, with less regular breaks and more fragmented schedules.
Tuesdays and Thursdays: intensive face-to-face sessions
Tuesdays and Thursdays account for the majority of collective time: meetings, team exchanges, etc. These days give structure to the week and often serve as benchmarks for working together.
Teleworking: what impact on the catering industry?
A marked drop in attendance at certain lunchtimes
Telecommuting automatically reduces the number of on-site employees. On the days when it is most popular, lunchtime attendance declines, particularly in highly service-oriented areas. This reduction is not uniform, but depends on neighboring companies and their internal agreements.
A shorter lunch break
Contrary to popular belief, telecommuting does not lengthen your lunch break.
According to the Flashs, Selvitys & Openeat survey, the trend is even downward. When working remotely, 52% of employees claim to have lunch in less than 30 minutes, compared with 45% when on site.
Teleworking: how can restaurateurs tap into this customer segment?
Even though the number of people visiting our stores at lunchtime may be down, we're not losing any of our consumer habits. The French continue to eat out. 85% go there at least once a week, 56% use the takeaway, 42% the drive and 40% the delivery. Hybrid workers activate these channels even more. The demand is still there, what's changing is the way we capture it.
01. Activate a Click & Collect channel
Visit Click & Collect responds to a constraint of telecommuting: lack of time. Breaks are shorter and more flexible, depending on the progress of a file or a video. Offering the order in advance allows you to keep your options open, even on a 20 or 30-minute break. It's also an operational management tool for you: orders can be anticipated, and kitchen organization can be better distributed over the service.
Over time, you'll also notice a change in behavior. When customers know how you work and anticipate their week, some get into the habit of ordering 24 to 48 hours in advance, especially when they know how their day will unfold.
02. Launch a true Click & Delivery strategy
Delivery is now a standard feature, especially among hybrid workers. 40% of French people use it, often on days when they work from home. But enabling delivery doesn't mean relying solely on external platforms.
A real strategy Click & Delivery allows you to regain control of this channel. You can launch your own white-label delivery service, without having to recruit or manage a fleet of delivery drivers. Logistics outsourcingbut the customer relationship stays with you. You handle orders directly, you control supply, schedules and above all margins.
This has another key advantage: each order feeds your customer database.
This knowledge then enables you to activate targeted actionsof build loyalty and spread activity over the week. Delivery is no longer simply a means of absorbing volume, but an integral part of your strategy.
03. Optimize your high/low days with targeted campaigns
Click & Collect and Click & Delivery already give you two levers to capture demand differently. Targeted offers enable you to go further and manage your business methodically.
The aim is not to run continuous promotions, but to adapt your offers to your needs.
On quieter days, the aim is to trigger the order:
➜ propose more attractive offers, designed for takeaway or delivery
➜ send targeted campaigns to invite pre-orders, especially 24 to 48 hours in advance
➜ highlight formulas suited to on-the-go breaks, such as a salad + a drink + a dessert
➜ focus communication on channel speed and convenience
On busier days, the aim is to absorb the volume without degrading service:
➜ improve the customer journey through the facility to reduce waiting (control terminals, QR codes)
➜ highlight the quickest products to prepare
➜ direct part of demand to Click & Collect to relieve counter congestion
Telecommuting then becomes a natural part of your day-to-day management.
Teleworking: develop your offer to meet your customers' needs
Are you looking to structure your offering in the face of hybrid rhythms, identify the right levers to activate and adjust your organization without disrupting your current operations?
Contact us today. Our team analyzes your situation, your constraints and your objectives to build a digital strategy tailored to your business.
