Home office or office: Austria's employees demand flexible working!

Home office or office: Austria's employees demand flexible working!

The current labor market situation in Austria shows significant trends in the areas of working time organization and job satisfaction. While around three percent of the population voluntarily work part-time, this has a direct impact on social security in old age, as Dieter Scharitzer, Managing Director of TQS Research, emphasizes. A study of 1,000 people shows that almost 90 percent are satisfied with their job and many find the balance between professional and private life to be good. However, it is worrying that 60 percent of those surveyed do not have access to home office, although only 11 percent reject this form of work at all. According to Scharitzer, this would often mean that employees have to come to the office regularly against their will. As reported by vienna.at, many Austrian employees want more flexibility.

The trend towards hybrid working

In Germany, a similar discussion follows the return to the office. The “Return to Office” trend, which began in 2022, calls for more presence in the workplace, which is met with resistance from many employees. Only 9 percent of those surveyed prefer to work exclusively in the office, while a large majority want a hybrid form of work. Deutsche Telekom and other large companies are also relying on increased attendance requirements, although studies show that only a fifth of companies have introduced such a regulation. As reported on Deutschlandfunk, home office is not only popular in the IT industry, but also a strong desire of many employees in other sectors.

For many, the advantages of working from home are undisputed: better work-life balance, no commute times and a healthier working environment. Studies show that combining home office and office work is the preferred solution for most employees. This is also reflected in the assessment that a return to compulsory attendance is perceived as a step backwards due to the positive experiences of working from home. The new work culture could therefore require more flexibility and a rethinking in companies in order to promote employee satisfaction and productivity.