In which industries is home office most widespread

Home office has proven to be an effective way to limit contacts at work as well as on the way to work during the Corona pandemic, thus reducing the risk of infection. But while some jobs can be easily done from home, in other areas this is not readily possible - and this is reflected in job postings. The aim of a study conducted by the company Hays is to investigate whether experiences during the pandemic have influenced the very pronounced presence culture in Germany. The study measures how often the option of a home office is advertised in public job advertisements. For this purpose, advertisements published since 2017 on job boards, company websites and in print media that contain the term home office or corresponding designations were counted.

INDUSTRIES WITH A DIGITAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE FOCUS LEAD THE WAY

In an industry comparison, companies in the information and telecommunications segment most frequently advertised the home office offer in 2017. The sector includes many digital and media occupations whose tasks can be performed regardless of location - at 22 percent in 2020, the proportion of home office mentions was correspondingly high. In the energy sector, too, a total of 22 percent of job postings in 2020 contained a reference to remote work. A significant jump was already observed here from 2018 to 2019: At that time, the proportion rose from four to twelve percent. The home office option was mentioned more than twice as often as in 2019 in job advertisements in the finance and insurance sector: The proportion of corresponding advertisements rose from seven percent in 2019 to 17 percent in 2020. Staffing service providers who take over the search for suitable specialists for client companies also expanded their offer of home office work. The biggest increase here was also in 2020, with home office now mentioned in one in ten job ads from staffing firms. In 2017, this share was only three percent. Public administration only occupies tenth place in the ranking, even though administrative tasks in particular seem predestined for working from home. A culture of presence still prevails in public authorities and offices, and despite the experience gained during the pandemic, digitization is progressing only slowly. Only seven percent of the job advertisements published in 2020 mentioned the option of a home office. In addition to the lack of technical equipment, the reasons include data protection regulations.