Two years after the end of the Corona pandemic, the home office has become firmly established. According to a study by the Munich-based Ifo Institute, employees in Germany spend an average of 17 percent of their working time at home. Many companies are already downsizing their office space – the Ifo Institute expects twelve percent less demand for office properties nationwide in the coming years. However, opinions are still divided on the topic of home office: According to a survey by the “Handelsblatt”, several large companies would like their employees to be more present in the office again.
Large companies such as SAP, VW, Telekom and Deutsche Bank recently announced that they would tighten their attendance rules. However, according to the Ifo survey, the amount of working time spent working from home is unchanged from the previous year. Currently, 23.4 percent of all employees in Germany work fully or partially from home. Employees in the IT industry spend an average of 58 percent of their working time at home, while the figure for management consultancies is 50 percent.
For Cornelius Neumann-Redlin, General Manager of the Business Associations in the State of Bremen (UVLB), the seemingly opposing trends are not a contradiction: “The home office is here and is not going away,” he says. This is why some companies in Bremen are also downsizing their premises. The technology group Siemens, for example, halved the number of desks when it moved its sales and service branch from the technology park at the university to the Tabakquartier. Anyone who wants to come to the office has to reserve their workstation in advance using an app.
Employers demand “guard rails”
Nevertheless, some companies in Bremen also have the impression that the topic of home office has “taken on a life of its own,” says Neumann-Redlin. “We believe that a few guard rails are necessary.” The association advises its member companies in Bremen on the conclusion of company agreements that should regulate home and on-site work. “In many cases, two to three days of home office are possible,” reports Neumann-Redlin. The days spent in the office are important for exchange and loyalty to the company. There is also a desire for more control over employees. “But that is not the main reason,” assures the association head. “Many of our companies say: Home office works well.”
The Chamber of Employees is also registering the seemingly contradictory trends when it comes to home office: “There are certainly companies in which home office has become established and which are now reducing office space or are planning to do so,” reports Nathalie Sander, spokeswoman for the Chamber of Employees. Other companies, however, are not satisfied with the consequences of home office. “So there are one or two companies that are thinking about bringing employees back from home office,” says Sander. It is important for employees: “There is no obligation to work from home.” Employees should always seek advice before signing an agreement to work from home – or if they are unsure whether the employer can bring them back from home office.
WFB: Office real estate market remains robust
The Bremen Economic Development Agency (WFB) assures that there is no sign yet in Bremen that the trend towards home offices could lead to vacancies in office space. Despite the uncertain economic situation, the real estate market is “remarkably robust,” says WFB spokeswoman Juliane Scholz. Demand for office space is currently back to the level it was before the corona pandemic. Although working environments are changing due to agile working and co-working concepts, the need for workspaces remains fundamentally the same. “The number of office workers is actually tending to rise in Bremen,” Scholz calculates. 5,000 have been added since 2020. “Office jobs are needed and not being cut,” she says. “This also has something to do with Bremen’s strong appeal as a regional center.”
According to the WFB, the vacancy rate for office space in Bremen is currently 5.4 percent. Compared to the rest of the country, this is “acceptable,” but higher than the long-term average of three to four percent, Scholz admits. This primarily affects areas in older office buildings that no longer meet today’s requirements in terms of equipment, energy supply and space layout. However, the trend suggests a high level of stability. 80 percent of the current new construction projects have already been rented out.
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