During the pandemic, many people have been forced to work from home. Now it is over, but the home office remains: As figures from the Federal Statistical Office show, the rate is still stable.
The home office has established itself in Germany’s everyday work. Even after the end of the pandemic, 24.2 percent of all employees worked from home at least occasionally, according to the Federal Statistical Office.
The year before, when drastic corona protection measures were in place, it was 24.9 percent. Compared to the pre-Corona period, the proportion of people working from home has almost doubled. In 2019, 12.8 percent used this opportunity.
According to the statisticians, the proportion of those who spent every working day within their own four walls has fallen more significantly compared to the previous year: In 2021 this was still the case for every tenth employed person (10.1 percent), in 2022 it was only for 7, 4 percent of the workforce.
Home office use depends on the industry
How often home office is used depends heavily on the industry. The highest proportion in 2022 was in the IT services sector: a good three quarters (76 percent) of dependent employees worked from home at least occasionally.
In the administration and management of companies as well as in management consulting, 73 percent made use of the home office. In insurance, reinsurance and pension funds, it was more than two thirds of the employees (70.4 percent).
Employees in the healthcare sector (6.6 percent), construction and finishing trades (7.8 percent) or retail (8.3 percent) only very rarely had the opportunity to do their job within their own four walls.
Germany above the EU average
In an international comparison, Germany is above the EU average of 22.6 percent. Home office leaders are the Netherlands with 53.2 percent, ahead of Sweden (45 percent) and Finland (40.6 percent). In Romania and Bulgaria, on the other hand, the fewest employees work from home, each at just over 4 percent.