The home office has established itself, shows an Ifo study

The initial reservations about the home office are increasingly disappearing. In the meantime, many employees – also in Germany – feel far more productive than expected when working from home. This is the result of a recent survey by the Institute for Economic Research (Ifo) among employees in 27 different countries. More than a quarter of all employees surveyed between the ages of 27 and 59 would change employer if the employer only offered face-to-face time. In the United States alone, as many as 40 percent would look for a new job if they had to go back to full-time office work.

At the same time, the study of 27 countries shows that the more productive employees rate their time in the home office, the more time in their own walls the employer gives them. The lockdown also played a role: the stricter the requirements, the more likely it was that work would be shifted to the home office – and in many places it stayed there.

Working from home also has an impact on urban development

In Germany, employees spend 1.4 days a week working from home. In France it is 1.3 days, in the USA 1.6 and in Japan 1.1. “As a result, Corona has permanently changed working conditions,” the institute assesses the research results. “Never before has any event turned working life upside down in such a short time,” says co-author Matthias Dolls.

He also expects positive consequences for the development of cities. “If older and more affluent workers migrate to the suburbs, rents in some cities could fall, which in turn makes it easier for young workers to live there and take advantage of the networking opportunities.”