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Nearly half of German firms to allow working from home after coronavirus crisis

Spurred by the coronavirus crisis, an increasingly large number of German companies are open to - and allowing - working from home, according to a new study.

Published: 9 July 2020 11:38 CEST
Nearly half of German firms to allow working from home after coronavirus crisis
A woman working from home in Berlin in April. Photo: DPA

A total of 42 percent of German companies said they will allow employees to work from home following the coronavirus crisis, with an equally large percentage still undecided.

READ ALSO: Will working from home become the norm in Germany post-coronavirus?

Researchers from the Stuttgart-based Fraunhofer Institute for Industrial Engineering (IAO) and the German Association for Personnel Management surveyed around 500 German companies from May 5th to 22nd to obtain an overview of the situation, which they published on Thursday.

“The results are impressive,” said study leader Dr. Josephine Hofmann from IAO. “We are witnessing a large-scale, nationwide experiment in the digitalisation of work and cooperation, the speed of change of which seemed unthinkable until recently.”

The vast majority of companies surveyed said they’ve had good experiences with ‘Home Office’, as it’s referred to in Germany. A full 90 percent said that working from home is possible without any disadvantages. 

The same percentage of firms said that they would not be able to “easily” turn down employees’ wishes to work from home in the future. 

Room for improvements

However, there is also a need for improvements when it comes to working remotely, wrote Hofmann. 

The most frequently mentioned shortcoming was the lack of a strategy against the “borderline phenomena”. 

Have your say on our poll on the topic on Twitter:

In other words, for many people the line between work and leisure time can become blurred when the companies and managers don’t have a strategy on how to effectively use the time during the day.

In addition, the researchers found a lack of routine in “leadership at a distance”. 

Managers also complained about technical issues that arose from working remotely – above all, they complained about difficulties in being able to sign documents electronically.

Growing number of people working from home

Throughout the coronavirus crisis, many employees in Germany switched to working at home when it was possible. 

Around 25 percent of Germans have been working from home during the lockdown in March and April, an increase from 12 percent before the strict measures to contain the spread of Covid-19 were put into place.

And around 40 percent of German companies offer their employees the possibility to work from home, according to Statista. 

A full 60 percent of Germans are also in favour of a legal right to work from home, which was proposed by German Labour Minister Hubertus Heil in April.

Germany is also considering extra tax advantages for working from home. Previously, a person had to have a room set aside as an office to claim tax benefits, a requirement which is likely to be loosened.

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WORKING IN GERMANY

Which Bavaria-based companies regularly hire English speakers?

Bavaria is no doubt a beautiful state with a strong economy, but can be a hard place for non-German speakers to integrate. The Local takes a look at job opportunities in Germany’s southeastern 'Free State.'

Published: 7 February 2024 10:54 CET
Updated: 10 February 2024 08:20 CET
Which Bavaria-based companies regularly hire English speakers?

Munich ranks third in German cities with the highest total GDP, behind Berlin and Hamburg, but in terms of GDP per capita, it’s higher than both of them.

It also consistently ranks high, often highest, in terms of average household income.

As of 2023, nine of the 40 companies listed on DAX, Germany’s stock index, were based in Bavaria. Seven of those are based specifically in Munich.

While Frankfurt is commonly known to be Germany’s business capital, Munich can claim the title of Germany’s insurance capital, which is saying something, as Germany is home to some of the largest insurance firms in the world, like Allianz.

Beyond the state’s capital city, a number of international companies are based elsewhere in Bavaria, particularly in the Franken region, near Nuremberg.

Which companies actively hire English speakers?

Bavaria, and Munich in particular, is home to a number of companies at the forefront of international business. But the state is known for its traditional, sometimes conservative, culture, which affects its business culture as well.

Whereas companies embracing English as their primary business language are easy to find in Berlin, the practice is less common in the south. That said, there are some notable exceptions. 

Sportswear giants, Adidas and Puma, both have their headquarters near Nuremberg in Herzogenaurach, and regularly recruit English speaking international talent.

“As an international company, our teams reflect the rich diversity of our consumers and communities,” Jon Greenhalgh, Senior Manager Media Relations for Adidas told The Local. “Fostering a culture of inclusion where we value and leverage differences, ensures that we can authentically engage with our employees and truly connect with our consumers.”

He added that around 40 per cent of Adidas’ Germany-based employees are foreign nationals, from over 100 different countries.

Siemens and BMW rank among Bavaria’s top employers, and are also known to hire their fair share of foreigners.

“In Germany, we recently had around 2,000 open positions,” Konstanze Somborn told The Local on behalf of Siemens AG.

He added that Siemens operates in 190 countries. “That is why we value international teams very much…English as a common language is very usual.”

READ ALSO: ‘Which German companies want to hire foreigners?’

Similarly, BMW hires workers from a variety of backgrounds. 

“Every year, we hire lots of internationals and welcome them to the BMW Group,” Dr. Hans-Peter Ketterl, a press spokesman for BMW Group told The Local. 

But not all of these positions are available to non-German speakers.

Ketterl added that BMW’s working language is German in the country, even though, “English is an indispensable entry requirement as the second corporate language in many areas of the company.”

Check job boards and follow best practices

If it’s your first time applying for jobs in Germany, make sure to change your resume to the German format, even for English positions.

While Germany is home to its own job boards, like Xing, LinkedIn is probably the best place to start. In addition to searching for positions based in your preferred location, you can check relevant groups, like Munich Startups, to broaden your horizons.

The English Jobs in Germany website is also a good resource to start with. 

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