[3] "Work from Home" was written by Daniel Bedingfield, Jude Demorest, Eskeerdo, Brian Lee, Ty Dolla Sign, Ammo, & DallasK[4][5][6] with production from the latter two.

The song is primarily an R&B track that incorporates elements of trap music and tropical house beats with lyrics depicting "work" as a euphemism for sex.

"Work from Home" also became the first top-five single in the country by a girl group in ten years, following the September 2006 peak of "Buttons" by The Pussycat Dolls at number three.

[16] The song has achieved multi-platinum certifications in several countries, including quintuple platinum in Canada and the United States and diamond in France.

"Work from Home" was initially written by Joshua Coleman with Jude Demorest, Alexander Izquierdo, Dallas Koehlke and Brian Lee.

[20] During an interview with Spin, Cabello explained that the group "fell in love" with the song after hearing it mostly for its "laid-back" and "chill" atmosphere that featured an "a kind of urban pocket".

[1] While talking about how the collaboration with Ty Dolla Sign came together, Dinah Jane told Billboard that she was "happy he agreed" to be on the track as he was one of her "favorite artists".

[22] When discussing the album's single choice, Kordei told Entertainment Weekly that the song made sense after releasing "Worth It" because they had "similar styles, but still sounded "different".

[23] Nearly a month after the interview took place, the track premiered for the first time on radio on February 26, 2016, on the Elvis Duran and the Morning Show, and was released along with the pre-order of the album.

Katherine St. Asaph of Pitchfork noted elements of Rnbass in its production,[25] while Meaghan Garvey from MTV found tropical house influences on its beats.

[26] Discussing the song musically, Chris Martins from Billboard classified it as "a pop-R&B confection that siphons off the a tropically tinted EDM pool.

[29] Its instrumentation, which interpolates the riff of Daniel Bedingfield's 2001 song "Gotta Get Thru This", is complete with electro claps, strong bassline and backed-synth.

[32] The second verse is sung by Hernandez who sings: "Let's put it into motion / Imma give you a promotion / I'll make it feel like a vacay / Turn the bed into an ocean".

Matt Collar from AllMusic described "Work from Home" as one of the "most playful tracks" from 7/27 writing that said song along with "Not That Kinda Girl" "build upon Fifth Harmony's knack for mixing juicy R&B hooks with just enough hip-hop muscle to keep things from getting too polite.

"[37] Carolyn Menyes of Music Times gave it a positive review, noting the "chilled out vibe" and the "chorus that cools down the song's momentum rather than pumping it up".

[38] Isabella Biedenhan of Entertainment Weekly wrote that "...slinking beats and playfully sexy lyrics about convincing your partner to skip the boardroom for the bedroom" were notable in the song.

Spencer Kornhaber from The Atlantic journal noted that "Work from Home" "is typical in portraying freaky bedroom fun as glorious mostly in the bounds of a relationship.

In a mixed-positive review, Carl Williott initially called the track a "DJ Mustard ripoff" but complimented the group for managing to make the song "their own" with their "subtle harmonizations adding some texture", he adds.

Mike Wass shared similar sentiments and called it a "sleek and sexy bop with on-trend production" and an "insidiously catchy chorus" while praising the group's musical evolution.

The premise gets a laugh, but it’s the sound that kept everyone coming back: echoing snaps and claps, tons of space, and vocal lines that threaten to explode into pyrotechnics at a moment’s notice.

Several sites, such as Billboard,[7] Rolling Stone,[8] Entertainment Weekly[9] and Time,[10] ranked "Work from Home" in the top ten of their respected best pop songs of the year lists.

In the annual Village Voice's Pazz & Jop mass critics poll of the year's best in music in 2016, "Work from Home" was tied at number 36, with six other songs.

In 2017, Billboard ranked "Work from Home" at number 14 on its list of 100 Greatest Girl Group Songs of All Time: Critics' Picks.

[64] The following week, the song would climb two spots to reach a peak at number 10, earning the group their first and only top 10 single in the United States.

[16] In early 2017, the song was certified quadruple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America for combined sales and streaming of four million equivalent units.

He noted the reverse gender roles where the men are "the objects" as "opposed to the other way around" and the many interpretations of work, which he says aided in the song's success.

Ally is seen inside the house with a hammer, as she approaches a male construction worker, turning him around by gently grabbing his shirt and flirting with him.

And said that the song calls something described as "neo-feminism", she wrote: "we see Fifth Harmony highlighting these concepts of ninth wave feminism, gender spheres, sexual stereotyping, etc.

[92] The group performed the song on The Ellen DeGeneres Show on May 10,[93][94] dancing in and around a car prop and at the 2016 Billboard Music Awards on May 22 alongside Ty Dolla Sign.

[101] An edited version of the single was performed at the 2017 People's Choice Awards,[102] where the group made their first appearance as a quartet following Camila Cabello's departure in late 2016.