Austria's Academics in the Middle of the Pack Internationally for Home Office

For the study, numerous individuals aged 20 to 64 were surveyed in 40 countries between November 2024 and February 2025. A general return to the office was not observed. "Despite prominent examples of companies bringing their employees back to the office, our results show that the home office rate has been stable internationally since 2023," explains Ifo scientist Mathias Dolls.

Canada Leads in Home Office - South Korea and China Lag Behind

The highest proportion of home office among full-time employees was found by the economic researchers to be 1.9 days in Canada. This is followed by the United Kingdom with 1.8 and Finland with 1.7 days. Besides Germany, the USA and India also reached 1.6 days, with the proportion in the USA being slightly higher than in Germany when looking at further decimal places. According to the study, the least amount of home office work is done in South Korea with 0.5 days, China and Greece with 0.6 days, and Japan with 0.7 days. In Germany's neighboring countries, the values vary - from 0.9 days in Denmark, 1.0 in France, 1.1 in Poland, 1.2 in Austria, and 1.3 in the Czech Republic to 1.4 in the Netherlands. Belgium, Luxembourg, and Switzerland were not part of the survey.

Home Office: Individuality of Society and Life Situation Make a Difference

The difference in home office usage between countries is mainly due to "how important individuality is in a society," according to a previous study, says Dolls. "This usually goes hand in hand with a higher level of trust between employees and employers. Individuality is particularly pronounced in English-speaking countries, explaining their top positions." Ireland and New Zealand are also above the global average. According to the study, how often people work from home also depends on the life situation of the employees. Employees with children are more likely to split their workweek between the home office and the employer's location, while employees without children are more likely to work either fully remotely or fully on-site. The researchers did not find significant differences between men and women.

(APA/Red)

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