Estimate data used working from home.
Working from home is dominated by two flows. Video conferencing runs roughly 0.5-1.5 GB an hour depending on resolution and participant count, and it is symmetric — your outgoing camera stream counts as much as the incoming ones. Cloud file sync adds a steady background load. A VPN wraps every packet, adding around 5-15 percent, and it applies to both flows rather than only to corporate traffic.
Remote work daily load
Daily GB = (call hours x GB per call hour + sync GB) x (1 + VPN overhead); monthly = daily x working days
Roughly 0.5 GB an hour for a 720p one-to-one call, 1-1.5 GB for a group call in HD, and up to 2.5 GB for a large gallery-view meeting at 1080p. Turning your camera off cuts your outgoing half almost entirely.
Because each original packet is encrypted and wrapped in a new one with its own headers. IPsec typically adds 5-10 percent and older SSL VPNs more, and the smaller the packets the worse the ratio — which is why VoIP over VPN suffers most.
Yes. Camera off when not speaking, calls at 720p rather than 1080p, and setting file sync to exclude large media folders together typically cut the total by 40-50 percent without affecting how you work.