Seven people report on their work in the home office: "I'm doing better than I have been for a long time."

Enlarge image

Home sweet home, job alone: ​​With the fourth wave, many employees could go back to the home office

Photo: Yuri Arcurs peopleimages.com / Getty Images

For some a blessing, for others the sheer horror: working from home.

In January of this year, 24 percent of all employees in Germany worked from their own four walls, in the summer, after the end of the statutory home office obligation, it was only 15 percent, according to a representative survey by the Hans Böckler Foundation among 5047 people from the Summer shows.

Now the fourth wave is here.

And the obligation to work from home will apparently soon be back.

Less than a year ago we spoke to seven people about what working from home means to them.

Now we have asked them again what gives them hope and how they imagine the world of work in the future.

Employee in public administration

, 42 years: "Corona and home office triggered my depression"

»Working from home has meanwhile become the new normal for us. The principle shapes everyday work. What has changed little is the work culture and the management culture. There are no adjustments to the new realities and the opportunities of digital work are hardly used. The cohesion in the teams suffered most of all.

This is exemplified by new colleagues.

It is difficult for 'the newcomers' to arrive, you can see with them how much body language, facial expressions and tones make up that are largely eliminated by video conferences.

Not everyone can do that either: r simply compensate and there were no tips or coaching at all.

The hope would be that now - when we all won't be able to get out of the home office so quickly - we will work again on digital leadership and team culture.

Although that is a weak hope, because it became clear to me again how little communication was discussed in the office before Corona.

And not everyone: r is interested in it and seeks or finds new solutions.

"Ultimately, my mental health stands against anyone's irrational aversion to vaccination."

Public administration employees

For my team, I suggested that we all meet again in the office on one day of the week when we already have a joint meeting.

This has already shown the first positive effects.

It helps that the whole team has been vaccinated since the summer and that everyone has told the others on their own initiative when he or she got a vaccination appointment.

It also helps me myself because Corona and home office have triggered my depression: Working too close at home, the elimination of habits such as the - actually annoying - commute, the greatly reduced everyday contacts. All of this was probably more problematic for me than I first thought. So I actually wanted to experiment with more days in the office again. But can I really do that in the face of the fourth wave? Because unfortunately I believe that we will not be able to master the situation with 3, 2 or 1G this winter either. And after politics has acted so hesitantly, personal responsibility is required again, which I will also take on.

I find that difficult because ultimately my mental health stands against anyone's irrational aversion to vaccination.

Of course there have been and are much worse things in this pandemic, but it's tough for me. "

Team leader, 55 years old: "The home office compensated for the increased workload"

»I am temporarily working in another city as part of a further training course.

That had been planned for a long time, and I was looking forward to it: New tasks, new impulses and expanding my internal company network through intensive contacts with colleagues on site.

That was the expectation that had meanwhile also been fulfilled.

But that will probably change again.

Then I would only have a few personal contacts on site hundreds of kilometers away from home - and I might as well be at home in the home office in my hometown.

That’s what I’ll try to do.

"Our top management basically got the curve too late."

Team leader

Our top management basically got the curve too late: In the summer, it would have been easier to bring colleagues back together, but that was neglected, instead, when the incidence began to rise, days of attendance were prescribed again. Many have little understanding for this. Others, however, were happy about it and looked forward to returning to the office. Some of the colleagues who cannot work from home due to the process are also jealous of those who have this opportunity.

We work more than before. The travel times are simply replaced by working hours. Basically, the home office has compensated for the intensification of work in our area; that is a bad development. It is still difficult to keep in touch with everyone on the team - many have become more relaxed and leave the camera on more often during video conferences, but not all of them.

It was positive for me that I also digitized myself much better so as not to lose touch.

I would probably not have done that if it hadn't been for the practical necessity.

I would never have believed that we would not even need all this mass of paper.

But I also realized that the digital world is much more transparent.

Everyone can see what you're doing at any time, and the bosses could basically read everything.

A huge issue for those sensitive to data protection.

In any case, I don't write any critical comments about the company chat and think a lot more about what and to whom I am communicating and via which channel.

Even after more than a year and a half, I still haven't found a good solution for separating work and job.

At home you can get to your computer so quickly that it is difficult to distinguish yourself. "

more on the subject

• Despite the shutdown in the office: The sacred German culture of presence

• Silent coworking: Hurray, a strange man with a hat is sitting in my home office A report from Maren Hoffmann

• After Corona: Companies expect significantly more home offices

• Corona emergency: Heil apparently wants to reintroduce the obligation to work from home

• Fourth corona wave: I can hardly speak a column by Sibylle Berg

Team leader, 34 years old: "It was a good year for me"

“I haven't been on short-time work since May. At the moment I work about half on site, the other half in the home office. When I have a lot of appointments, I work from home; I drive to the office on days with fewer calls to have time to go out for a coffee with colleagues. This exchange motivates me, it brings a new spirit of optimism - à la »things are looking up again« - into our daily work; you also get a better feeling for the atmosphere in the team.

Each area can decide for itself how much presence is required.

I'm an exception here, most of them only come to the office about every two weeks for a team meeting, mainly because of the long journey.

An internal company survey showed that most would like to work from home with the greatest possible flexibility and a lot in the future.

I believe that in order to remain attractive as an employer, one should maintain this flexibility.

"I believe that in order to remain attractive as an employer, you should maintain this flexibility."

Team leader

I feel that it makes sense to have to work from home when it comes to breaking the fourth wave. It wouldn't do me any good personally, it would put a lot of pressure on the mood to have to sit inside so much in the dark again and not be able to see any colleagues. I used the time on short-time work to do advanced training and started painting, that has become less over the summer, but I'll take it up again now.

It was a good year for me: I was promoted and I feel comfortable in my new management role.

In addition, in the summer I really thought: Corona is coming to an end.

The increasing numbers now frustrate me.

I cannot understand why so many do not get vaccinated and do not trust the facts and figures, but rather a vague feeling - and thus, among other things, to blame that we may no longer be allowed to go to the office and have to restrict our social life.

Even if it is of course also due to other factors. "

Insurance employee, 52 years: "I've become more relaxed"

»We currently have to spend 30 percent of our working hours in the office again - but I actually expect that in the course of the fourth corona wave an email will come that will collect it again. I didn't really miss my colleagues in the home office, I'm more of a family person. But I thought it was nice to be back in the office. The first day was like being let into the good room on Christmas Eve and looking at the presents: I was happy about every single colleague I met again. I was amazed at how quickly I got used to the office again, even though we no longer have permanent seats. I used to not go to the cafeteria regularly, but that's what I've decided to do now: to eat more with colleagues, do more together.We also talk to each other a lot more than before - and it's nice to be cooked for too.

I have become more relaxed, also with regard to the quirks of my colleagues.

One or two days a week in the office is okay, that's actually ideal.

I think 30 percent is okay;

our company wanted to increase that to 50 percent on January 1st.

I don't know why, it's actually unnecessary and I think it's too much.

"There are quite a few sensitivities that management has to deal with."

Insurance workers

There is a colleague on the team who was vehemently against going back to the office. With him we all thought: he'll probably get a certificate so that he can stay at home completely. He hasn't done it yet, but then I realized: It's a bit ambivalent. There are colleagues whom you don't really like to be around, but you also feel it is unjust if they of all people want to gain privileges. Another colleague can allegedly not wear a mask, not even for five minutes in the hallway - at work she could even sit without one again. There are quite a few sensitivities that management has to deal with.

Because we keep the home office, my daughter and I can coordinate well so that our family dog ​​is always taken care of.

Especially for her he was so important and helpful in the lockdown because she lives alone.

I only realized when I had to drive back to the office what a waste of resources and life this crazy commuting is.

And if there is a system failure, you just sit around uselessly in the office - at home you can at least make good use of the time.

In the home office, I also have much better contact with my team leader, because every week he calls everyone specifically - that's different from a chance meeting in the office.

I never want to work the way I used to. "

Lead Operations Manager, 33 years old: "I'm tired of the home office"

“When the number of infections was still low at the beginning of October, we were required to be 40 percent of the time in the office.

Now everyone is allowed to come again voluntarily, but should test themselves beforehand.

Since we were also infected in the office, I have decided to work exclusively from home again.

That makes me very sad, but it makes sense in the context of the pandemic - as well as a possible home office obligation.

I just think it will be difficult to get this through.

After all, this would also curtail the rights of the vaccinated.

"It's all so tiring."

Lead Operations Manager

As far as work motivation is concerned, this year has been a constant ups and downs: In January I just got out of parental leave. That was very exciting for me, I first had to groove myself in and get used to the project again. At some point this vigor was gone, but then I changed jobs again. The new challenge brought more motivation with it. But right now it's hard for me to get excited about my work. I'm tired of the home office, I miss my colleagues, it's getting winter, the weather is bad - it's all so tiring.

What I still like about working from home is that it simplifies the compatibility with family life.

I just save time: Instead of commuting to the office, I can do my shopping or tidy up.

Unfortunately, the shutdowns and isolation have also resulted in my child being constantly ill and unable to go to daycare.

Like many other parents, my husband and I are happy if we can work through a week at all. "

Lawyer, 47 years old: "I stay one hundred percent in the home office if it helps to break the wave"

»If I have to work from home again, I look calmly in the eye - as long as the schools stay open.

Thanks to Covid, my wife and I have established a “new normal” for ourselves and are sticking to it: Each of us has fixed days in the home office and fixed days in the office.

That's how we structured our week, and it works really well.

"We have established a› new normal ‹."

Lawyer

In the meantime there is really something going on in the office.

In January I was really alone there, it was very quiet, sometimes almost creepy.

Now about half of the colleagues are there regularly.

But the home office has also become more of a place for concentrated work: Fortunately, my three children go to school quite regularly, so it's quiet at home.

So far there have only been very isolated infections in schools and I hope it stays that way and politicians keep their promises to respect the education and mental health of the children more.

I also stay one hundred percent in the home office if it helps to break the wave and keep the schools open. "

Partner in a management consultancy, 40 years old: "I have a better grip on my work-life balance"

“I continue to work from home three to four days a week.

It would not limit me at all if there was an obligation to work from home again.

Working decentrally has arrived at our company and with our customers.

Acquisition and the presentation of larger projects take place in person - the rest also works great decentrally.

Nevertheless, the days in the home office are more clocked.

I used to fly to Vienna for a two-hour appointment, then sat in the lounge - then the day was over.

Today I am doing three such appointments during that time.

“Of course, when the kids are sick at home, I have other tasks to deal with.

But that's also part of it. "

Business consultant

With the current number of infections in particular, it also gives me a better feeling that I don't have to travel all the time. In the company we have the policy that everyone can decide for themselves whether they want to work from home; if the project allows it. Funnily enough, a lot of people come to the office anyway. Especially those who might be a little fresher. It's about contact with colleagues, but also about a better screen or a more comfortable desk chair. On Fridays we meet regularly for breakfast or in the evening for a beer. We also offer a massage or shoe cleaning service to create an additional incentive to come to the office.

I am still doing well with the combination of home office and office;

better than before.

It feels like my working hours have become a little less overall and I have a better grip on my work-life balance, my sport, my regular dinner.

Of course, when the kids are sick at home, I have to deal with other tasks.

But that's also part of it. "