Reader debate: Should the home office remain?

working at home

Since the beginning of the corona pandemic, more people have been working from home.

(Photo: dpa)

Dusseldorf More and more corona rules are falling away. As far as working in offices is concerned, however, one trend from the pandemic seems to remain: the home office. It even goes so far that companies are reducing office space because of the increased number of home workers, as a survey by the Handelsblatt among the 40 Dax companies and ten large family businesses shows.

We asked the Handelsblatt readership whether it makes sense for employees to still work from home for a few days and how their workplace has changed in recent years. The majority is very much in favor of working from home. “The pandemic has shown very clearly that mobile working often increases productivity and at the same time makes private life much easier,” writes one reader.

Another reader even says that we are already beyond the question of whether employees can continue to work from home. For her, it’s more about how employees continue to feel connected to the company and the team. From the point of view of another reader, a home office offer is now indispensable for employers.

This is exactly what a founder of a software company in the e-learning sector tells us. His team “wanted to remain flexible and had reacted negatively to an originally proposed regulation with three fixed office days,” he reports. Therefore, all employees are now allowed to work from home for up to four days a week.

Hardly anyone wants to get rid of the office entirely. “Many jobs don’t need an office, but many people do from time to time,” says one reader, for example. For him, the office is a place to meet, network and collaborate. Especially the encounters with bosses, colleagues, clients and customers emphasize some.

We have put together a selection for you from the letters from the Handelsblatt readers.

Is there a move to the cloud coming soon?

“The pandemic has shown very clearly that mobile working often increases productivity and at the same time makes private life much easier.

A lot of money could be saved by renting offices, and flexibility could even be increased by decentralizing them.

I would even go so far as to say that this is the beginning of a shift in work to the cloud and that some companies will soon only exist virtually without a real head office: work as a service.”
Nico A corner

The team wanted to remain flexible

“I am the founder of a software company in the e-learning sector with eleven employees (average age 36 years). Since January 1st, 2023, we have introduced a new rule (initially for six months) that allows all employees to work from home for up to four days – everyone only has to be in the office on Wednesdays. The team wanted to remain flexible and had reacted negatively to an originally proposed regulation with three fixed office days.

The performance and the atmosphere have been great so far and everyone is satisfied, also because we have fully digital work processes without paper. The coming obligation to record working hours does not suit us at all and only increases the administrative effort for us.”
Bjorn Carstensen

The truth is in the middle

“From my point of view, the truth about the home office share lies somewhere in the middle, as always.

On the one hand, a balanced home office regulation enables an improved work-life balance, for example by eliminating travel times – which is good for the environment and the wallet in equal measure – the opportunity to use this time to be there for the family and in the evening preparing the meal or jogging during the lunch break – keyword ‘active break’. In my opinion, a corresponding offer is indispensable for employers in order to create attractive working conditions.

At the same time, a certain attendance quota, in my company three days a week, for example, makes sense, since this is the only way for employees to build networks, to discuss problems and ideas outside of fixed team meetings in coffee kitchens, and thus to enable innovation . A redesign of the office space towards more free meeting areas would support this.”
Lars Meier

>> Read about this: Up to 40 percent less space – corporations save on offices because of home office

One step further

“We are already beyond the question of whether employees can continue to work from home. The question is when, for which tasks, how much and what do they need in order to be able to do their work in a solidly integrated manner with the company and the team. So: Can you say if you feel overwhelmed, if you need a team atmosphere or simply an exchange? Or are you no longer cool and a:e eternally yesterday:r? How much security in processes, working together in a team, the processes in the company, dealing with changing IT tools and, above all, what kind of leadership and guidance are necessary in order to work confidently, with joy and effectively in the home office as in the office ? Experienced litigators probably need different support than career starters, at best they can support each other.

For me, the question of how joy and effectiveness at work can be maintained is measured by how openly and free of judgment errors and uncertainties can be admitted in order to keep looking for better solutions together and in an ‘agile’ manner.”
Sanne Mueller

The great freedom has begun

“The great freedom has begun – superficially, because there are currently more opportunities to do classic office work: less in the office, more at home and more in trains and coworking spaces. This expansion of the offering is a big leap in flexibility.

Disadvantage: While the office is extremely crowded on Tuesday/Wednesday, Monday and Friday are almost ghostly empty. At home, more work is done in the sense of longer and more intensive work (without interruption). I see communication between colleagues, which is often considered extremely important, eroding as a result. What is now missing are meeting rooms for more than 20 people – the square footage of one’s own workplace is also decreasing.”
Thomas Beyerle

One place to meet, one to work

“Many activities do not need an office, but many people now and then do. Therefore, I consider and experience hybrid work as a promising model. For me, the home office is the place to work, the office the place to meet, network, collaborate.”
Andrew Weckler

Everyone should decide for themselves

“I think the employee should be able to decide for themselves, provided there are no operational objections. Example: If the employee lives close to the office and cannot work well at home because it is too warm, too loud, no space, forced home office would be bad.

Counter-example: If an employee has a long commute to work, can carry out his work at home just as well as in the office and is well positioned at home, a ban on working from home would be nonsensical. The employer only has to find ways to build up the team structure, for example by more team events, and to make cheating more difficult for alleged ‘cheats’ through individual measures.

Conclusion: In my opinion, the possibilities of working from home are definitely a positive effect of the corona pandemic.”
Dennis Koenemann

graphic

Sometimes the office is essential

“In our profession, personal encounters with bosses, colleagues and, above all, clients are essential. In a screen encounter, the other person cannot empathize with sensations, reactions through voice tone, facial expressions and posture anywhere near as well as in a face-to-face encounter. We’re not paperless yet: contracts, certificates and personal letters often still arrive in paper form.

Working from home only makes sense if it is necessary for personal reasons – sick family member – and this means that urgent work can be done at home to reassure the responsible employee.”
Lutz Frommherz

As much as possible from the home office

“In my opinion, employees should be allowed to work from home as much as possible, as this can increase productivity and motivation and relieve traffic. The (much) smaller office should only be used for face-to-face events.

The office space that has been freed up could be used sensibly for social housing and for accommodating refugees.
I myself work almost exclusively from home, enjoy a completely new work-life balance and have significantly improved my productivity. The many unnecessary interruptions and internal bureaucracies in everyday office life have disappeared.

Before the pandemic, I could not have imagined how relaxed and professional working from home can be if you can deal with it in a disciplined manner. Discipline refers to both directions: resisting private distractions, but also pressing the off switch on the computer in an orderly and consistent manner and converting the travel time gained into walks and sport.”
Udo Bruecher

>> Read about this: Seven successful bosses reveal how they steer themselves and their companies through turbulent times

Full steam ahead into the future!

“Collaboration is a question of will and personal commitment, regardless of the place of work. Now, just because the pandemic is over, do we just want to give up the strengths of concentration, focus and thus incredible efficiency in addition to a significantly improved work-life balance? Anyone planning this is probably male, well over 50 and mentally stuck deep in the last millennium. Full speed ahead into the future!”
Andrew’s cousin

A gain in lifetime, for the family and for the environment

“Definitely working from home if it suits the task, and that often requires quiet work. A gain in lifetime, for the family and for the environment. The employee, the team or the boss must ensure that the social component is not lost. Unfortunately, it is difficult for young professionals to get used to business life, but such are the times.”
Rudiger Loerch

If you would like to have your say on this topic in the Handelsblatt, write us a comment, either by e-mail [email protected] or on Instagram at @handelsblatt.

More: In the past week there has been a debate about ChatGPT and whether this technology is an opportunity, a risk or just a gimmick.

source site-12