Survey: Employees wish to spend over 60 per cent of their working time in the office

Employees in Germany wish to spend more time in the office than their bosses might expect. On average, employees consider 3.2 days in the office to be ideal for their productivity, and 3.0 days in the office for their utmost well-being. In both cases, employees' time preferences exceed those of their employers, who estimate only 2.7 office days on average for maximum productivity and well-being. 58 per cent of all participants surveyed are against a permanent remote working arrangement, primarily in order to maintain contact with colleagues. These are the key findings of a survey of 1,000 employees throughout Germany conducted by the British market research company Sapio on behalf of the internationally active construction services provider ISG. 70 per cent of employees surveyed have been working partly or predominantly from home since March 2020.

Aydin Karaduman, Managing Director Europe at ISG: "Our survey shows that the office is not dead, but it has to change. Office and remote working already co-exist. The office has to add value compared to working from home in order to bring about the best performance in the team. In the future, we will therefore need even more state-of-the-art offices that are highly appealing with a personal feel and plenty of space for collaborative work. For ISG in Germany, this also means that in addition to our core office business we will increasingly focus on other types of office use."  

Among the most important criteria for the office are good accessibility, a reliable supply of fresh air and powerful IT equipment. The survey also found a correlation between the desire to work from home and satisfaction with the job. 69 per cent of respondents are satisfied with their work: However, the proportion drops to 60 per cent among respondents who prefer to work from home and rises to 76 per cent for those desiring more office days. The same applies to the 77 per cent who confirm that their work requires a high level of concentration: Among supporters of remote working, only 68 per cent agreed with this statement, while the proportion of office users on this point is 83 per cent.

The survey was conducted on behalf of ISG in September 2020 among 4,005 office users in the UK, Spain and Germany. In Germany, 1,000 people were surveyed, each employed in companies with more than 250 employees.