Digital economy sends its employees to home offices across the board

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Nine out of ten companies recommend working from home, two thirds have even ordered it
President Berg: Utilizing the opportunities and advantages of digitalization for the world of work
Under the impact of the Corona crisis, flexible working is becoming the norm. Nine out of ten companies (89 percent) in the digital economy recommend that their employees work from home . Two thirds (64 percent) have even ordered this. This is the result of a survey by the digital association Bitkom, in which 235 companies from the IT, telecommunications and digitizing sectors took part.

According to the companies surveyed, an average of 86 percent of employees are able to work from home . Digital technologies are used for internal company communication. 95 percent of companies are replacing face-to-face meetings with video conferences.

"Digital technologies are the guarantee for keeping economic life running in times of curfews, contact bans and production stoppages. The Corona crisis is a call to politics and business to digitize the world of work as quickly, comprehensively and permanently as possible," says Bitkom President Achim Berg.

The widespread shutdown of the economy poses enormous challenges for digital companies. Six out of ten of the companies surveyed report great uncertainty among their customers (61 percent) and postponed orders (60 percent). One in four (23 percent) is already struggling with order cancellations.

Every second company surveyed (49 percent) has postponed investment decisions in view of the crisis, and one in five (20 percent) has restricted production. This is also due to interrupted supply chains. Companies that have business contacts in China are particularly affected.

81 percent of these companies report that deliveries from China have been stopped or affected. Within Europe (48 percent) and Germany (40 percent), border closures and other restrictions are also leading to delivery problems and delivery stops for the companies that depend on them.



Negative impact on business results feared
Expectations for business development in 2020 are correspondingly clouded. vietnam gambling data For the economy as a whole, 97 percent of the companies surveyed expect negative effects on gross domestic product and 92 percent expect a setback for the labor market.

The majority also expect negative effects on sales (65 percent) and employment (47 percent) for the industry itself. Eight out of ten of the companies surveyed (79 percent) expect negative effects on their own business results in 2020. Four out of ten (37 percent) fear negative effects on employment in their own company, 55 percent expect no impact on this.



plant closures and short-time work
For some, the Corona crisis is raising questions about their survival. 5 percent of the companies surveyed have decided to close their operations, and another 10 percent are discussing it. 7 percent have reduced working hours or introduced short-time work , and another 34 percent are considering doing so.

The outlook for the near future is not very optimistic. Almost all of the companies surveyed (94 percent) expect the economic crisis to worsen further. 92 percent expect a global recession. Berg: "Digitalization is the silver lining on the horizon of the Corona crisis."

Note on methodology: The information is based on a survey conducted by Bitkom Research on behalf of the digital association Bitkom. Between March 17 and 22, 2020, 235 companies in the IT and telecommunications sector as well as companies in digitizing sectors were surveyed online, including members and non-members of Bitkom e. V.