Sleep longer instead of traffic congestion, cozy couch instead of noisy open-plan office and more self-determination: Home office is popular, but the potential is not exhausted according to a study. In Germany, a right to a home office is therefore discussed. But it is unclear how such a law should look in practice.
On Tuesday, the German Ministry of Labor announced a legal regulation for this year. Everyone who could at least occasionally work just as well from home should be given better opportunities to do so, State Secretary Björn Böhning (SPD) said. There will be a clear ruling that restricts the right to mobile work to cases where „home office is really possible outside the workplace with regard to the use of work equipment“. However, the government partner CDU / CSU rejects the claim.
The push is certainly not new. Already in January Böhning had brought the right to talk. In February, the SPD, led by the Ministry of Labor, wrote the claim. „We will enshrine a right to mobile work and home office by law, so that more workers can benefit from the digital benefits,“ says the SPD concept. However, details of a legal framework were still missing. So far, there is no legal right to home office.
Trend, but share in Austria low
This also applies to Austria, said Martin Risak, labor lawyer of the University of Vienna, in conversation with ORF.at. „Just as there is no obligation for flextime, there is no obligation for the employer for home office,“ says the expert. The case-law derived from ‚Nature and purpose of the employment relationship‘ that the employee performs his duties in the employer’s establishment. If you want something different, such as working from home, you have to agree with the employer. „As detailed as possible,“ recommended Risak.
When does the working time start? When does it end? Are there any breaks? Who has to pay for the necessary work equipment? Who is responsible for the maintenance of the funds? „In law, the apartment is explicitly mentioned as a place where working hours can occur. It also belongs recorded, „said Risak. In principle, the employer is responsible for providing the work equipment. If the private phone or the private Internet connection is used, there is at least the right to reimbursement.
Home office is in trend, but the number of people who actually work from home is low. According to Mikrozenus of Statistik Austria, 3.7 percent of respondents said „at home“ as their main job. In women, the proportion is higher (4.3 percent), lower in men (3.2 percent). The proportion of home office employees increases with age and formal education. The German sociologist Yvonne Lott agrees, which emphasized in an interview with Deutschlandfunk that home office is a privilege of the higher qualified. Higher is the proportion of those who specify the private home as „another workplace“.
Would you like to stay longer?
Studies on home office are numerous. Workers who work at home are more satisfied than their colleagues who work at the employer’s premises, according to a study by the Institute of German Business. In another study, conducted by researchers at the University of Basel, it is attested that home office employees, however, also work longer hours and do more „extra work“ for 2.5 hours per week. The overtime should be „above all the result of an improved intrinsic motivation,“ it says in conclusion.
However, attention is also drawn to a higher output orientation. „If working time is not documented or controlled, the service provided must serve as confirmation. This can of course lead to pressure to produce at any time and anywhere performance, „said labor lawyer Risak. But also workers would use overtime to try to avoid the prejudice that they would let the work grind at home.
Right to home office in the Netherlands
One aspect that, according to Risak, is currently being neglected in the discussion about home office is workplace design in the workplace. A well thought-out home office concept could save companies money and ultimately pay for office space. „Even today, there are companies in which fixed jobs are rare. In the evening, the desk has to be cleared, so to speak, „says Risak. But what happens to those who do not always work in the home office, but also from
