Only 4% of German Companies Want to Abolish Working From Home
Three out of four German companies where working from home is possible want to keep it that way, according to an ifo Institute survey. “These results refute the view that the trend is moving back to office work,” says ifo researcher Jean-Victor Alipour. Only 12% are planning stricter guidelines, and only 4% want to completely abolish working from home. “Public reporting focuses on individual companies where working from home is to be scaled back. That exaggerates the actual development,” says Alipour. 11% of companies even want to make the regulations more flexible.
Working from home is generally possible at 79% of companies. It is far more frequently the case at large companies (93%) than at small and medium-sized enterprises (75%). The sectors also differ: While 82% of service providers and 89% of manufacturing businesses can offer working from home, that only applies to 40% of construction and trading companies. Across all sectors, only a minority want to restrict or abolish working from home.
“No one denies that working on-site is better than working from home in some respects. Stricter rules through greater coordination of joint on-site working hours can make working from home more productive overall,” says Alipour.
13% of service providers and 8% of manufacturing businesses are planning more flexible arrangements for working from home. “Working from home is and will remain firmly established in Germany,” concludes Alipour. “The clocks will not turn back to 2019.”
