pandemic
Survey: Home office experiences mostly positive
Working in the home office – back pain and muscle tension are among the negative consequences. Photo: Klaus-Dietmar Gabbert/dpa
© dpa-infocom GmbH
Most employees who work in the home office see working from home positively. But the office at home also has its downsides. Some groups suffer from this in particular – women, for example.
Three out of five employees who have already worked from home have a predominantly positive attitude towards this form of work. This is the result of a representative Forsa survey commissioned by the commercial health insurance fund (KKH).
Only a fifth of those surveyed described their experiences with working from home as predominantly negative.
70 percent of all survey participants stated that they could better combine family and work in the home office. A fifth of employees also said that working from home has a positive effect on their health – mainly due to less stress. For just as many, however, the well-being has also deteriorated.
back pain and tension
When it comes to the negative consequences, back pain and muscle tension are clearly the first: Among all those who reported negative health effects, a third of those working from home are struggling with increased complaints in this area or those that have occurred for the first time. This has an impact on employee absenteeism, as shown by KKH insurance data from 2021. The health insurance company attributes 24 percent of all days off to diseases of the musculoskeletal system. In previous years it was around 22 to 23 percent.
According to a survey, every fifth person working from home is suffering from the situation. Dejection and depression have increased among those affected. According to the KKH data, the duration of illness in depressive episodes increased by 26 percent in 2021 compared to 2017 to an average of 66.5 days.
Single people suffer more
According to the information, around two-thirds of those working from home who are affected by mental illness are women. “Most of the time it’s always the women who take care of the children and the household in addition to their job,” said KHH business psychologist Antje Judick.
According to Forsa, working singles in the home office also suffer more than people who live in a partnership. Because with the lack of social exchange in the office, an important resource for mental balance is lost.