Home office

What is working from home?

Haufe Verlag defines home office as follows: “Home office, also known as teleworking, is a flexible form of work in which employees carry out all or part of their work from their private environment.”

Working from home is therefore a way of determining where the actual work is carried out according to the job description.

Working from home is generally understood to mean working from home. However, this is not exclusively the case.

Are working from home and teleworking the same thing?

According to the official definition, it belongs to teleworking, which is a flexible form of work. There is also the term “working from home”, although this type of employment is mainly on a fee basis and tends to be self-employed.

Employee retention is also important here. In our blog article you can find interesting information about this.

What are the advantages of working from home?

Working from home has a number of advantages, which we would like to list here:

• Time savings because there is no commute to work
• Self-determined work
• More flexible division of labor
• Cost reduction through lower travel costs
• Higher job satisfaction
• Less distraction from the team
• Reduction of CO₂ emissions
• Increasing employer branding for employers:in

What are the disadvantages of working from home?

However, there are also disadvantages to working from home:

• Less interaction and exchange with the team
• More distraction risks
• Needs more self-discipline
• Social isolation
• Constant availability
• Lack of data security
• Mixing private and working life
• Reduced visibility can reduce perception of work performance

What forms of teleworking or home office are there?

There are three different forms of teleworking, which we will now introduce.

Telecommuting

This means that an employee works full-time from a home office. They therefore work exclusively from home.

Alternating teleworking

This is probably the most common form of teleworking. Team colleagues have access to both a workstation in the company and a home office. Accordingly, employees can switch between the office and home office as required.

Mobile teleworking

In this form, the workplace moves with the employee, so to speak. employee. This model is popular in sales or other industries with a high volume of travel. The important thing here is that colleagues can access their technical necessities while on the move.

Is there a right to work from home?

No, there is no fundamental right to work from home. Nor can working from home be ordered unilaterally. Employers and employees must mutually agree on working from home and how it should be organized. If there is a works council, it must also be involved.

Do employees always have to be available?

No. The employer has no right to reach an employee at any time. Clear communication rules, e.g. at the beginning or end of working hours, must be agreed in the employment contract.

However, it also applies that employees do not have to be available to the employer outside their defined working hours.

Does the employer bear the costs of the home office?

Whether the employer bears all costs for the home office, e.g. workstation, monitor, etc., depends on the employment contract agreement. In principle, the employer must bear the costs if nothing has been agreed.

Employers are advised to agree clear regulations in the employment contract, e.g. a home office allowance.

How can a home office be taken into account for tax purposes?

In order to claim a study for tax purposes, this room must be used exclusively for work. If, for example, the desk is in the living room or bedroom, this room cannot be claimed for tax purposes.

Are there special working hours or break times in the home office?

The Working Hours Act also applies when working from home. Corresponding regulations on maximum permitted working hours or compliance with break times also apply here.

The employer is responsible for complying with break times. However, this is often difficult to verify. Corresponding regulations should be defined in the employment contract.

What is a home office policy?

For the nationwide introduction of working from home, a uniform set of rules for the fair organization of working from home is recommended. If this is not done, there are legal uncertainties and the practice of working from home can also be seen as culturally unfair.

Among other things, the following points can be regulated:

Costs: In principle, the employer pays the costs. The only question is, up to what maximum amount? For which specific components?

Technology: The workplace in the home office must also comply with the employer’s workplace regulations. Occupational health and safety also applies and must be complied with.

Data protection: It must also be ensured that the data used by employees working from home continues to be protected. The protective measures for maintaining data security must also correspond to the state of the art at home.

Accessibility: When and how can colleagues be reached when working from home? How do you know that they are available? How and when can they be contacted?

Right of access: The employer may gain access to the workplace.

Culture: How is the physical distance and thus the reduced exchange between colleagues overcome? What measures are being taken to create a sense of team spirit and belonging despite working from home?

Scope: To what extent is working from home permitted? The entire working time? Only a certain proportion? Are there days of the week when working from home is not permitted?

Tips and tricks for employees for an effective home office

Creating a good workplace

To be able to work productively from home, a well-equipped workstation is essential. A good ergonomic desk with a suitable office chair. A monitor for more content and an overview, mouse, keyboard and fast internet are all part of productive working.

Lighting, noise pollution, distractions from third parties and much more should also be carefully checked and ideally prevented. Plants and tidiness can also have a positive impact on the working environment.

Get into the flow

In addition to the working environment, the way in which work is carried out can also have a positive influence on effective working from home.

Ideally, it is possible to achieve so-called focused work phases of 20 to 30 minutes, which are interrupted by short active breaks. Tools such as Kono can help you to reflect better on such work phases.

Establish routines and repetitive processes

Regular routines create security, productivity and calm for people. Just like in the office, it is therefore important to memorize your routines and repeat them regularly. For example, regularly wearing official work clothes that you would also wear in the office can lead to an inner focus and therefore an increase in productivity. It can also help to achieve a better distinction between private and working life.

Tips and tricks for employers for a successful home office introduction

Establishing a home office corporate culture

During the coronavirus pandemic in particular, many people were forced to work from home at short notice and unplanned. Detached from this necessity, many people and organizations were or are still overwhelmed with the design and daily experience of working from home.

What was initially a necessity has now become part of everyday life. As already mentioned, this has many advantages but also disadvantages. In addition, the personality of the people concerned also has a significant influence on the success of working from home. Not everyone finds working from home pleasant and profitable. Many people want to experience work together with their colleagues in the office and share ideas and experiences.

For these reasons, it is advisable for a company to establish a corporate culture together with the workforce that meets all the needs of employees and employers. This can be achieved by putting a home office policy in writing, among other things.

Find out more about proactively shaping corporate culture in our white paper: Actively shaping corporate culture.

Clear rules and overview

According to the motto “Same rules for all”, it is clearly recommended to define the same guidelines and rules for all employees. If this is not done, unequal treatment can lead to dissatisfaction and toxic situations among the workforce.

For example, it is important to clarify the availability of colleagues. Nothing is more frustrating than not being able to reach a colleague, even though this has been agreed. It can also be very demotivating if a colleague from IT is given the latest computer model and you have to work with outdated equipment yourself.

HR planners and the HR department should be aware of the organization and the practice of working from home. They themselves should be part of the processes and communication in order to be able to respond authentically to the needs of the workforce.

Promoting communication and creating balance

There may be a kitchen in your own home, but you won’t meet your colleague there. The so-called “watercooler effect” of exchanging ideas at the coffee machine or over a cigarette should not be underestimated. A lot of important company information is exchanged during the course of the day or open questions and challenges are briefly clarified in a short conversation.

As these situations do not exist in the home office, the HR department is required to create alternative ways of proactively exchanging information with each other. In addition to technical options such as Google Meet, Zoom, Skype and FaceTime, there are also many methodical formats available.

These can be meeting formats such as a daily video check-in, a weekly review of work successes or a joint virtual lunch. The focus is on seeing, feeling, understanding and exchanging ideas with one another.