20
22

Impact Report

Hayden Brown,
Upwork President and CEO

Our ability to rally together and innovate in a world of constraints is a testament to the resilience of our community and the culture of our team.

Haydens Signature
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Our Company
$618M
in revenue
$4.1B
gross services volume
814k
active clients
$3.7B
in total talent earnings; $19B in total talent lifetime earnings

Upwork
at a Glance: 2022

Our People

Our Team

874

employees located across 20 states in the US

1,843

members of our hybrid
workforce (HWF) located
in 97 countries

Senior Management

61%
men
37%
Women
2% not shared

Board of Directors

50%
Women
38%
from
underrepresented
communities
13%
self-identify
as LGBTQ+

Key Accomplishments

.
$200M+
earned by talent impacted and/or displaced by the war in Ukraine 
100+
Community Groups built to help talent connect with one another
76
Upwork Academy cohorts launched and 7,064 freelancers coached
$2.86M
donated through The Upwork Foundation, matching gifts, and other corporate giving
.

15 MTCO2e Scope 1 & 2 market-based emissions

Carbon neutral since 2019

Remote work included in Scope 3 analysis

2022 Awards and Accolades

Upwork President and CEO named to SIA's Global Power 150 - Women in Staffing List

Upwork President and CEO Named to Forbes' Future of Work 50

2023 Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index

TIME 100 Most Influential Companies

Innovating the World's Work Marketplace

At Upwork, we are shaping our platform and services, along with our own team, to demonstrate and enable an innovative hybrid workforce model that ensures businesses can hire the right type of talent, avoid over-hiring, and give workers the flexibility and control they demand. 

Key Product Features
  • Accessible user interface and experience
  • Pay protection
  • Fair contracts
  • Measures to support trust and safety

Upwork enables companies to Hire for Impact by building diverse teams and connecting with talent facing hardship.

Ukraine Response

Upwork enables the livelihoods of tens of thousands of Ukrainians and we have been unwavering in our commitment to stand with Ukraine, mobilizing to support the safety, security, and wellbeing of our Ukraine-based team members, as well as the business needs of our customers.

Our Company

900k+

customers impacted

229

Upwork team members affected

138

team members relocated

$154k

donated by Upwork and Upwork team members through matching gifts

$100k

sent to 800 freelancers with projects listed on Project Catalog

Upwork joined forces with the Tent Partnership for Refugees to create Opportunity Unlimited, an initiative that helps displaced professionals find work, no matter their location.

Impact Priorities

Economic Opportunity

Meet the Upwork Community

Community Events at Upwork are a set of live and custom event programs that allow freelancers to engage and learn in real-time and build long-lasting relationships. 

Community Events Highlights

187

events hosted

28,444

attendees

70

average NPS score from participants

The Upwork Academy is an interactive suite of courses and tools designed to help freelancers succeed on Upwork.

Upwork Academy Highlights

76

Upwork Academy cohorts launched

7,064

freelancers received coaching

18%

increase in the likelihood of landing a contract within 90 days for talent who completed an Upwork Academy learning path 

Upwork Community Groups provide talent and clients alike with online hubs which foster connection and belonging.

Community Group Highlights

100+

Community Groups launched

30+

Groups in native languages

5k+

members in 6 different groups

The Upwork Foundation

The Upwork Foundation is working to close the global opportunity gap by funding initiatives that connect traditionally marginalized communities with life-sustaining knowledge work.

In 2022, we focused on supporting the needs of immigrants and refugees, granting $1.68 million in total to 12 high-impact nonprofits that provide: 

  • Better access to work regardless of location
  • The right to work
  • Long-term solutions
  • Help for new business owners

We are building a culture of engagement, belonging, and high performance in a remote-first environment. We want our team members—including employees and independent talent—to have a safe, healthy and flexible work experience and to stay connected from afar.

Highlights
  • 450 full-time employees onboarded through Ramp Up
  • Launched a new workforce research and engagement program
  • Onboarded a new fertility and adoption support vendor
  • Enhanced our mental health offerings
  • Increased short-term disability pay to 100% of salary for the first four weeks of leave
  • 20 paid days off provided to domestic payrolled hybrid team members

Workforce
Innovation and Wellbeing

Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DIBs)

At Upwork, we think of belonging as a feeling, inclusion as a practice, and diversity as an outcome. In 2022, we created and implemented programs aimed at promoting equity and opportunity within our organization and modeling a diverse hybrid workforce.

GlowUp:

an always-on membership community for Upwork's leaders of color to share leadership experiences, opportunities, and challenges.

RiseUp:

a formal sponsorship program for directors of color that focuses on increasing organizational visibility and the likelihood of promotion.

McKinsey Management Accelerator
and Leadership Essentials:

two programs for early to mid-career Black, Asian, and/or Latinx leaders designed to sharpen core business acumen and management capabilities. 

Leadership U:

a program aimed at early to mid-career LGBTQ+ team members designed to build skills around trust, communication, and empathy.

UPstanders:

a program led by team members who commit to mastering authenticity, inclusive practices, and disrupting bias in both small and big decisions. 

Our Place:

an immersive membership community for Upwork's most senior Black women employees.

Diversity
by the Numbers

Senior Management (VP+)

All Employees

Women
Men
Not shared

Senior Management by
Race/Ethnic Group

All Employees by
Race/Ethnic Group

White
Asian
Black or African American
Hispanic or Latino
Not shared
Other

Age of All Employees

Ages 27-42
Millenials
Ages 43-58
Gen X
Ages 18-26
Gen Z
Ages 59-77
Baby Boomers

4% self-identify as LGBTQ+

Upwork Belonging Communities

Our Upwork Belonging Communities create spaces that center the professional needs and goals of Upwork’s diverse workforce and help ensure that everyone can find their place within our One Upwork community:

Environmental Sustainability

In 2022, our Scope 1 and 2 market-based emissions reached an all-time low of 15 MTCO2e. In view of this, we focused our efforts on quantifying and reducing our Scope 3 footprint, which includes emissions from business travel, employee commuting, our supply chain, and remote work.

Our Footprint

Energy
Assured for 2022
Unit
2020
2021
2022
Renewable grid
MWh
95.4
83.9
94.1
Non-renewable grid
MWh
899
751.5
717.6
Retired RECs
MWh
(899)
(751.5)
(717.6)
Total Electricity
MWh
994.4
835.4
811.7
Percent Renewable
%
100
100
100
Natural Gas
Therms
4,110
3,095
2,873
Emmisions
Assured for 2022
Unit
2020
2021
2022
Scope 1
MTCO2e
0
0
0
Scope 1&2 - Location-Based
MTCO2e
381.3
354.1
368.8
Scope 1&2 - Market-Based
MTCO2e
21.8
16.4
15.3
Offsets Retired
MTCO2e
(22)
(16)
(15)
Emmisions
Scope 3
Assured for 2022
Unit
2020
2021
2022
Business Travel
MTCO2e
66.5
40
215.9
Employee Commuting
MTCO2e
70.5
4.5
61
Cloud Services
MTCO2e
386
229.1
29.5
All Other Suppliers
MTCO2e
Not calculated
Not calculated
6,621.9
Remote Work
MTCO2e
Not calculated
Not calculated
355.4
Total Scope 3
MTCO2e
523
273.6
7,283.7
Offsets Retired
MTCO2e
(523)
(274)
(632)
Highlights

Carbon neutral operations, business travel, employee commuting, and remote work

Independent third-party
verified GHG emissions 

B Score from CDP

Office-based electricity 100% renewable

LEED Gold Offices

100% of e-waste reused, recycled,
or donated

Business Integrity

Our corporate codes, policies, and guidelines support and promote integrity, transparency, and ethical business practices, and our Terms of Service and related policies help us maintain a work marketplace that is trusted, safe and secure.

2022 Highlights

  • Audited 22 Trust and Safety enforcement areas
  • 1,140 team members participated in Cybersecurity Awareness Month programs
  • Stood up a cyber threat intelligence program and a security operations, automation, and response product
  • Improved the readability of our Privacy Policy

Our Supplier Code of Conduct clarifies our expectations of the suppliers we work with, enabling us to partner with suppliers that share our values. Our Inclusive Sourcing program is designed to diversify our supply base and support small businesses and members of underrepresented communities.

In 2022, we benchmarked our supplier diversity spending against other companies and partnered with supplier.io to help us track diversity and spending performance and source diverse suppliers more effectively.

Highlights
  • Partnered with supplier.io to help us track and increase supplier diversity spend 
  • Increased the certified diverse suppliers we actively source from by 85% 

Supplier 
Engagement

Customer spotlights

Having a space like Upwork where we can actually plan and have conversations around sustainable working models with like-minded people is really valuable.

Alex Tuck
IT Project Management
Consultant

Upwork empowers me to work with clients anywhere, do what I love with ease, and adapt to unexpected twists in life. With every new project, I’m developing the knowledge and abilities I need to take the next step in my career.

Hyunjin “Jenna” Kang-Graham
Social Marketing Specialist

Upwork has always heped me stay afloat.

Olena Savchuk
Graphic Designer

I like working with organizations that are helping others. That gives my work purpose and keeps me motivated.

Matt Cates
Writer

You can't buy time. Once it's gone, it's gone. That's the one thing I wouldn't trade for anything—I'm able to spend time with my family and build lasting, meaningful relationships with my clients.

Kevin Cambell
Full-Stack Web Developer

Read the full report

Read the full report