The tenth survey wave conducted by the Bavarian Research Institute for Digital Transformation (bidt) examines the current prevalence of working from home in 2024. The study looks at self-perceived work productivity when working from home and also investigates how working from home impacts flexible forms of work and perceived stress levels.
Home office 2024
The debate surrounding working from home in companies remains ongoing. While not only major technology companies such as Google, Amazon, and Meta are increasingly calling their employees back to the office (Der Standard 2024), tthese measures often face resistance from employees. Reactions range from critical comments on internal networks and petitions opposing the reduction of working from home opportunities — such as at Deutsche Bank (NZZ 2024) — to employees contemplating resignation, as reported by some Amazon workers (Der Standard 2024). The reasons cited by companies for reducing or even eliminating working from home opportunities include a perceived lack of team cohesion due to extensive home office use, reduced efficiency (Süddeutsche Zeitung 2024), and claims that employee productivity decreases when working from home (Deutschlandfunk 2024).
Against this background, the present study examines the extent to which a return to the office can be observed among employed persons in Germany at the end of 2024 and explores the experiences when working from home. A particular focus is placed on self-perceived productivity while working from home and the compatibility of professional and private life. The study also considers questions such as whether working from home leads to more personal matters being completed or whether the choice of work location is irrelevant in this regard.
To address these and other questions, the Bavarian Research Institute for Digital Transformation (bidt) commissioned the market research institute Reppublika Research & Analytics to conduct a quantitative online survey. The field time lasted from 7 to 20 October 2024. A total of 1,922 internet-using employed persons aged 18 to 65 in Germany were surveyed. The results were weighted to be representative of internet-using employed persons in terms of age, gender, formal education level, and federal state (b4p 2023). This survey is part of a series including nine previous studies conducted by bidt on the prevalence and acceptance of working from home in Germany, from March 2020 to September/October 2023.
Working from home continues to decline and becomes more uniform across user groups
Working from home initially surged due to the COVID-19 pandemic and later gained further momentum during the energy crisis. However, a significant decline in home office use is now evident. In the previous survey conducted in September/October 2023, 48% of employed persons worked from home at least occasionally. By October 2024, this figure had fallen to 39%. Frequent home office use (at least several times a week) also declined significantly among employees, dropping from 31% at the end of 2023 to just 23% currently.
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The decline in working from home is particularly pronounced among those who previously worked from home relatively frequently, such as men and employees with staff responsibilities. While 34% of men and 28% of women worked from home at least several times a week at the end of 2023, this proportion converged to 25% for men and 22% for women by the end of 2024. Among employees with staff responsibilities, 64% worked from home at the end of 2023, a proportion that has now dropped to 50%. The most significant decline is observed in home office use several times a week: while 32% of employees with staff roles worked from home several times a week at the end of 2023, this figure fell to 19% by the end of 2024. As a result, the working from home behaviour of employees with staff responsibilities has become much closer to that of employees without such responsibilities. For the latter group, the share of those working from home several times a week remained constant at 15% between the end of 2023 and the end of 2024. The proportion of employees without personnel responsibilities working from home at least occasionally decreased only slightly, from 37% at the end of 2023 to 35% at the end of 2024.
Despite the decline in working from home and recent headlines about employee dissatisfaction with new working from home policies, the majority (72%) of employees who assess their work tasks to in principle allow working from home are rather or very satisfied with their organisation's working from home offerings. However, one in five is not. Notably, 8% of employees who believe their job permits working from home have already changed employers due to the working from home arrangements, while around a quarter (23%) are considering doing so. Working from home thus remains a competitive factor in retaining employees within organisations.
Majority perceives own productivity while working from home as higher or equal
41% of home office users rate their work productivity at home higher than at the workplace on-site. Half of those working from home, however, see no difference in productivity between the two work environments, while only 9% consider themselves less productive at home.
The more frequently respondents work from home, the more likely they are to perceive their work productivity while working from home as higher. Among those who work exclusively or almost exclusively from home, 64% report that their productivity is higher at home compared to at the workplace on-site. In contrast, this figure drops to just 22% for those who work from home two to three times a month or less. A notable gender difference also exists in the perceived work productivity when working from home. While 48% of women rate their productivity at home higher and 45% about the same, 37% of men consider themselves more productive at home, with 54% noticing no difference in productivity.
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One of the main reasons for working from home cited by 36% of home office users in 2022 was that they could work from home more productively and with greater focus (Stürz et al. 2022). The current survey indicates that home office users also feel less frequently distracted at home. 32% of employees with home office use agree or strongly agree that they are easily distracted at the on-site workplace, compared to only 18% who report the same about working from home. This lower level of distraction may contribute to the perception of higher work productivity when working from home. A correlation between work productivity perception and perceived distraction at home is evident. Among those who rate their productivity higher at home, only 15% report feeling distracted when working at home, compared to 47% when working at the on-site workplace. Conversely, for those who perceive their work productivity as the same or lower at home, the proportions are nearly identical: 22% feel easily distracted at the workplace on-site, compared to 20% at home.
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Work productivity, defined as the ratio of output to time, can be increased either by achieving more output in the same time or by completing the same output in less time. Respondents who rated their work productivity higher at home were asked for the reasons: 42% cited completing the same work in less time as the primary reason. An almost equal proportion (40%) attributed their higher work productivity to completing more work in the same time. Meanwhile, 17% believe their productivity is higher because they can better utilise the time between tasks for non-work-related activities.
Employees with working from home potential spend more work time on non-work-related things – regardless of location
14% of all respondents, agree or strongly agree that they often “kill time” while working on-site. A difference emerges between those who work from home and those who do not: among employees who do not work from home, only 10% report frequently killing time at their on-site workplace—a significantly lower proportion compared to employees who do work from home. Among the latter, 19% (strongly) agree that they often kill time while working on-site. In contrast, only 14% of employees with home office use report the same when working from home.
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This aligns with the reversal observed when employees are asked whether they regularly handle personal matters during working hours, depending on whether they work on-site or from home. Across all employees, 16% agree or strongly agree that they regularly handle personal matters while working on-site. Among employees with home office use, this proportion rises to 22% for on-site work. However, 30% of those with home office use agree or strongly agree that they regularly attend to personal matters during their working hours when working from home. In contrast, only 12% of employees without home office use find this statement applicable to their on-site work.
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Employees who use home office thus are more likely to kill time and handle personal matters during working hours compared to respondents without home office use, regardless of their location.
This difference becomes even more pronounced when considering whether the nature of a person’s work allows for working from home. Among respondents whose jobs could theoretically be performed at home, 18% agree or strongly agree that they often kill time while working on-site, compared to only 8% of those whose jobs do not allow for working from home. Similarly, 21% of respondents with the potential to work from home regularly attend to personal matters during working hours while on-site, compared to just 8% of those without such potential.
It is likely that the aforementioned differences are primarily related to the nature of the work, although other factors, such as professional experience or stress, may also play a role. In many cases, tasks that can be performed independently of location require input from colleagues, completed work packages from others, or feedback, leading to inevitable downtime during working hours. This idle time seems more likely to be utilised for personal matters by some employees when working from home, while on-site, it is more often simply endured or killed. Supporting this view, 76% of home office users agree or strongly agree that they can make more meaningful use of their breaks while working from home compared to working on-site.
Satisfaction with one’s own home office situation increases with greater usage
Satisfaction with one’s own home office situation has reached an all-time high, with 58% of those working from home being very satisfied and 37% rather satisfied. Satisfaction was at its lowest in March 2020, when pandemic-related regulations abruptly forced many people to work from home, and again in February 2021, following the introduction of the mandatory home office use.
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As with the frequency of working from home, satisfaction levels are increasingly equalising between different groups, such as between genders. At the end of 2023, only 46% of women and 54% of men reported being very satisfied with their own home office situation. Currently, these figures have risen to 57% for women and 59% for men. Similarly, satisfaction levels among employees with and without staff responsibilities are becoming more aligned. At the end of 2023, 42% of those with staff responsibilities reported being very satisfied, compared to 59% now. Among employees without staff responsibilities, the proportion of very satisfied respondents has risen from 55% in late 2023 to 58% currently.
In general, employees who work from home more frequently remain the most satisfied with their home office situation. Among employees who work exclusively or almost exclusively from home, 98% report being rather or very satisfied. By contrast, this proportion drops to 87% among those who work from home only two to three times a month or fewer.
Additionally, the length of time an employee has been with a company also influences satisfaction with one’s own home office situation. Among home office user who have been with their company for less than three years, 90% report being rather or very satisfied. This rises to 96% for those who have been with their company for longer than three years.
It is clear that while more companies are introducing stricter regulations for working from home and mandating more in-office presence, satisfaction among home office users has increased. This may be due, among other things, to the fact that there is now a free choice of home office use within the given regulations. Employees have also become more accustomed to working frome home and are better able to take advantage of its benefits. Furthermore, satisfaction tends to be highest among home office users who are well-established in their jobs and have been with their company for a longer period.
Working from home increases flexibility and enables better time management
Previous bidt studies highlighted that better work-life balance is one of the primary reasons for working from home (Stürz et al. 2022). This survey reinforces this finding, with 70% of remote workers (strongly) agreeing that working from home has improved their ability to balance work and personal life. One reason for this improvement is the time saved by eliminating the daily commute. 78% of those working from home agree or strongly agree that this saves them a lot of time. This is especially true for those whose round-trip commute takes longer than 30 minutes, with 82% (strongly) agreeing, compared to 72% of those with a commute of up to 30 minutes.
Beyond saving time by avoiding commuting, working from home also offers greater flexibility. Among home office users, 66% agree or strongly agree that they can better organise their working hours at home than on-site. Similarly, 67% report that working from home allows them to better manage personal matters alongside their professional responsibilities.
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It seems that employees who work from home more frequently particularly benefit from the positive effects on their personal lives. The proportion of those who find that working from home improves their ability to manage working hours, facilitates the organisation of personal matters, saves time by eliminating the commute, and generally helps achieving a better work-life balance increases significantly with the frequency of working from home.
Differences also emerge between employees who perceive their work productivity to be higher when working from home compared to on-site, and those who do not. Among home office users who rate their work productivity higher at home, 82% report an improvement in their work-life balance due to working from home. By contrast, only 62% of employees who rate their productivity equal or lower when working from home compared to on-site feel the same. A similar pattern can be observed in the perception that private matters and working hours can be better organised when working from home. Additionally, these differences are also evident when it comes to the statement that tasks are completed more quickly in the home office, resulting in more free time than when working on-site. Among home office users who consider themselves more productive when working from home, 70% agree with this statement, while only 42% of those who perceive their productivity as equal to or lower than on-site do the same.
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On the one hand, the results suggest that home office users may perceive their work productivity as higher when working from home because the increased flexibility can create new opportunities for non-work-related activities. For example, working from home offers more possibilities for completing personal tasks during working hours or making better use of breaks. On the other hand, the analysis also indicates that a higher level of work productivity in the home office can indeed be achieved, due to fewer distractions and the ability to complete work more quickly or even accomplish more work than on-site in the office. The time gained from this productivity boost is then potentially used for personal matters.
Working from home is associated with slightly higher job satisfaction and a lower perception of stress
IIn addition to satisfaction with the specific home office situation, general job satisfaction was also assessed. In Germany, job satisfaction is generally high, and even among different occupational groups, the differences are relatively small (Lesch et al. 2011; Destatis 2018). In this survey, 85% of employees state that they are generally satisfied with their working situation. Whether employees work from home does play a role in this. Among home office users, a greater proportion of employees report being satisfied, with an average of 89%. However, the most satisfied are not those who work from home most frequently, but rather those who work from home approximately once a week. By contrast, general job satisfaction is lower among employees who do not work from home at all, with only 83% reporting satisfaction. A different result emerges when considering the potential for home office use – whether the professional role allows for working from home, regardless of actual usage. Here, there are no differences in job satisfaction between employees who have home office potential and those who do not.
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In addition, the survey also examined the impact of working from home on perceived stress. Stress was measured using a four-point scale (Cohen 1983), then a sum-score was calculated and divided into three groups. The findings reveal that the more frequently employees work from home, the lower the proportion of those experiencing above-average stress. Among those who work (almost) exclusively from home, this is only a share of 9 %. In contrast, one-fifth of employees who work from home two to three times a month or less, experience above-average stress. This figure is similar to the 21% of employees who do not use home office at all who report above-average stress.
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When considering the potential for home office use, there are only slight and no systematic differences in perceived stress levels. The proportion of employees experiencing above-average stress hardly varies depending on whether and how often employees could theoretically use home office. This suggests that lower stress levels are more closely linked to actual home office usage rather than the type of occupation, which may have varying potential for working from home.
Conclusion
Even though reports of companies calling their employees back to the office are currently dominating the news, 39% of employees in Germany still work from home at least occasionally. This also shows that those who frequently work from home are increasingly returning to their companies. In addition, the differences in utilisation, particularly in terms of frequency, between the individual groups have decreased significantly. For example, the frequency of home office use among women and men and among people with and without staff responsibility has equalised compared to a year ago. A hybrid model of working from home and working on site, which combines the advantages of both work locations, therefore appears to be gaining ground.
Although many employers have concerns about reduced productivity when working from home, the self-assessments of employees suggest that these fears may often be unfounded. The majority of home office users perceive their productivity to be equal to or higher than when working on-site, with fewer distractions in the home office contributing to this perception.
At the same time, however, a closer look also shows that home office users also seem to use some of the time gained by completing work tasks more quickly for non-work-related private matters. However, this circumstance does not necessarily have to be negative from the employer's point of view, as many employees also report that they simply kill time more often when working on site than when working from home. In this context, it appears that activities that can in principle also be carried out from home are more often associated with idle time, which can then be better utilised by employees working from home. In addition, employers can also benefit from the fact that home office users tend to have a lower stress level, that they perceive work breaks as more useful and that the work-life balance is also improved by home office use, because less stressed employees who can also better reconcile their private life with their professional life usually achieve better quality work results and have lower absenteeism (KHH 2024; Bayerisches Landesamt für Gesundheit und Lebensmittelsicherheit 2006).
For the future design of flexible work models, it is clear that there is no one-size-fits-all approach. The ideal configuration of home office offerings depends on various factors, including the nature of the tasks, the need for certain work targets, and whether employees should be incentivized to maximize their working hours. There must be open communication between employers and employees to avoid misunderstandings, build trust, and foster a motivating work environment.
Employers should also consider the preferences and needs of their staff regarding the work environment. Some employees may perform better in the home office due to fewer distractions, while others may prefer working on-site due to factors such as lack of space or distractions at home. Additionally, the length of time an employee has been with a company can impact their satisfaction with working from home. New employees may struggle more with working from home as they need to learn processes and build relationships, which may be easier to do in person. Therefore, a balanced approach that considers team integration and the individual needs of employees could be beneficial.
New hybrid forms of work are currently undergoing change with an unclear outcome for the future organisation. The current headlines show how important it is to set the right course now through clear regulations and negotiation processes between employers and employees in order to achieve the best possible long-term situation for both sides.
Methode
