Working from home seems to have become normal for a larger proportion of employees in Germany. Even after the end of the pandemic, 24.2 percent of all employees worked from home at least occasionally, as the Federal Statistical Office announced on Tuesday. The year before, when drastic corona protection measures were in place, it was 24.9 percent.
Compared to the pre-Corona period, the proportion of people working from home has almost doubled. In 2019, 12.8 percent used this opportunity.
The proportion of homeworkers differs significantly depending on the industry. Three out of four IT service providers work in their home office, and home office is also widespread among insurance companies and pension funds with a share of 70.4 percent. Employees in the healthcare sector (6.6 percent), construction and finishing trades (7.8 percent) or retail (8.3 percent) only very rarely had the opportunity to do their job within their own four walls.
In an international comparison, Germany is above the EU average of 22.6 percent. Home office leaders are the Netherlands with 53.2 percent, ahead of Sweden (45 percent) and Finland (40.6 percent). In Romania and Bulgaria, on the other hand, the fewest employees work from home, each with a good 4 percent. (dpa)