Majority against the right to work from home

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The Federal Ministry of Labor's plans for a right to work from home have been met with widespread rejection by the German population. A majority of 56 percent would not welcome a legal right to work from home, as is currently being discussed. This is contrasted by 40 percent who welcome the proposal. This is the result of a representative survey of more than 1,000 people in Germany aged 16 and over commissioned by the digital association Bitkom. The Federal Ministry of Labor plans to introduce a right to work from home , according to which all employees whose work can be carried out from home have the right to freely choose their place of work on a certain number of days a year. This question divides the generations: while the majority of 16- to 29-year-olds welcome the plan (51 percent), opposition predominates in the age groups over 30 (58 percent).

"During the crisis, home offices and mobile working have helped many companies singapore gambling data and employees to keep their business running and to better reconcile the additional challenges in both their professional and private lives. Despite the overwhelmingly positive experiences, a majority of citizens are critical of the plans for a legal right to work from home ," says Bitkom President Achim Berg. Many fear a two-class society among employees: For every second person surveyed (48 percent), the injustice towards colleagues whose work is not suitable for working from home speaks against a right to work from home.

Among opponents of the right to work from home, 63 percent say this. Four in ten (40 percent) fear less interaction with colleagues, compared to 53 percent of opponents. One in three (32 percent) thinks that colleagues working from home would work less, compared to 45 percent of opponents of the legal right. And one in five (20 percent) sees an impermissible interference with entrepreneurial freedom, compared to one in three (32 percent) of opponents. One in six (17 percent) is worried about data security, compared to one in five (20 percent) of opponents.

"Home office should not be prescribed by the state, but the decision about how work is done must be made by the employer. Modern flexible forms of work are not an end in themselves and must be in line with the corporate culture and fit in with internal company processes," says Berg. Bitkom recommends that the state provide incentives for flexible working hours and locations without over-regulating this area. "Those who regularly work at home and help to avoid traffic jams and protect the environment should be rewarded for this and treated the same as commuters for tax purposes. Employees who invest in their home IT for professional reasons now during the crisis should also receive a one-off tax bonus." In the long term, expenses for the ICT equipment of a home workplace - regardless of whether a home office is available or not - should be able to be claimed as a flat rate business expense.