DThe corona pandemic is said to have brought about a breakthrough for office work from home, even for normal times outside of the waves of illness. This notion appears to be true only in part. According to an as yet unpublished study by the University of St. Gallen and the Barmer health insurance company, the evaluation of which is available to the FAZ, work in the so-called home office has fallen sharply.
During the peak of the pandemic, employees in Germany would have spent well over a third of their working hours within their own four walls. By the autumn of last year, this proportion had fallen to around 28 percent. For the “social health@work” study, more than 12,000 employees from 22 sectors throughout Germany were surveyed by September 2022.
The fifth wave of the disease hit in September. In wave one of the study in July 2020, the ratio was 26 percent, then grew to 34 in wave two in January 2021 and in wave three in July 2021 to a peak of 37 percent. For wave four in January 2022, the researchers found 35 percent. Despite the decline, mixed work styles are on the rise, with some workers online and others face-to-face. Currently, 40 percent follow this model.
“With the end of the pandemic, work will become more hybrid. People will continue to work from home, but will also work more in the office again,” says Christoph Straub, CEO of Barmer. “The current work situation poses new challenges for companies. You are called upon to make mobile working healthy, successful and sustainable after the pandemic.”
“Delimiting the place of work from the private environment is important in the home office”
In 49 percent of the cases, all employees are currently present, in 17 percent most are present, a few online, in 10 percent half and half. In 14 percent, however, everyone follows via video conference, in 11 percent most. According to the results, people working from home are better able to separate work and private life than they used to be. This has a direct effect on health because it can prevent stress. “Above all, the separation of the place of work from the private environment is important in the home office in order to protect the health of mobile workers,” says study author Stefan Böhm from the University of St. Gallen. Men are better at this distinction than women.
Currently, 62 percent of men reported being able to separate their place of work from private life, but only 55 percent of women. Above all, employees who could combine their work in the home office with active leisure activities would have health advantages. Your stress level will be significantly reduced. This advantage is even greater if the employees manage to “adjust mentally to their work at home at the beginning of the working day.” This also reduces the stress level.
The study also found that healthy remote work depends significantly on how well employees feel involved, among other factors. An “inclusive team atmosphere” has a positive effect on health. The same applies to job and career satisfaction and job performance. At the same time, this reduces the desire of employees to quit their jobs.
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