Companies Sticking with Remote Work // Representative ZEW study on the current and planned utilisation of remote work

Representative ZEW study on the current and planned utilisation of remote work

Despite the media attention for a possible move away from working from home, a ZEW survey shows that hybrid working models are still widespread in German companies.

Recently, there have been repeated reports that well-known companies want to restrict their home office regulations. The announced "return-to-office" strategies range from new upper limits for the number of days allocated for remote work to reintroducing the requirement to work daily in-office. Despite the media attention for a possible move away from working from home, a ZEW survey shows that hybrid working models are still widespread in German companies. Furthermore, companies expect remote work to become even more prevalent over the next two years. These are the findings of a representative survey conducted by ZEW Mannheim with around 1,200 companies in June 2024.

"According to our survey, employees in 82 per cent of companies in the information economy work from home at least once a week. Even in the manufacturing industry, where on-site work is more necessary, that figure is at 48 per cent. The proportion of companies that allow their employees to work from home at least once a week has thus remained at a consistently high level since the coronavirus pandemic. This means that we currently see no signs of companies turning away from offering remote work at least one day per week," commented Dr Daniel Erdsiek, director of the study and member of ZEW's "Digital Economy" Research Unit.