Jobs that offer the chance to work from home boomed in Germany during the pandemic but have continued to grow even afterward, according to an analysis by the Bertelsmann Foundation released Wednesday.
The share of online vacancies with the option to work from home has increased fivefold since 2019, according to the report.
Before the start of the coronavirus pandemic, working from home played virtually no role in German work culture.
In 2019, only 3.7% of all online vacancies offered the option to work from home. By 2022, this figure had risen to 16.8% and according to the research, it is now included in 17.6% of online job postings examined by the researchers.
The report shows that the growth trend, which has continued even after the end of the pandemic, varies by region and industry. According to the report, the western German city of Dusseldorf is the ‘German home office capital’.
According to the report, the IT sector is mainly open to working from home, with the option being almost standard for vacancies.
Foreign language teachers were even more likely to have the option to work from home at 72%, which is likely due to the many virtual courses on offer.
At the bottom of the scale in 2023 will be the crafts and geriatric care professions. That is not surprising, since there is virtually no alternative to working on location in those fields.
The foundation analyzed a total of 55 million online vacancies. The analysis shows what companies are advertising, but does not evaluate how often employees actually work from home.
“Working from home is not only common in many sectors. It will become an important argument in the battle for skilled workers,” says labor market expert Gunvald Herdin of the Bertelsmann Foundation.
