Spread and effects of mobile work and home office

The transformation of the world of work is accompanied by new forms of flexible work. In this context, questions of the use, design and effect of work from home and mobile working have recently come increasingly into focus. This is all the more true as companies and employees during the COVID-19 pandemic used working from home on a large scale as an opportunity to maintain operational processes despite mobility restrictions and physical distancing. The coalition agreement of the Federal Government also takes up the topic and advocates the facilitation, promotion and legal framing of mobile work. The object of this report is to compile and evaluate the available knowledge about the use, effects and legal design of mobile work and home office, and to expand it in some areas in a targeted manner. For this purpose, the available literature is systematically evaluated. This is deepened with representative surveys before and during the COVID-19 pandemic, an international comparative study as well as operational case studies. To be able to realize the positive aspects of remote and mobile work, the study shows that on the one hand increased demands are placed on the operational organization of work and cooperation, and on the other hand on the employees' abilities for self-organization. Practical experiences show that in many cases suitable arrangements can be found. Nevertheless, an individual legal entitlement, which implies an examination of the feasibility of location-flexible working in individual cases, is supported by a majority of employees. It can therefore be assumed that also after the pandemic, as is already becoming apparent, work from home will continue to be regarded as a normal component of working life for broader groups of employees.