Germany Going Big On Home Office

Amidst the coronavirus crisis, record numbers of people in Germany are now working remotely, and indications are that this will be a long-term trend in the country. In poll of chief financial officers carried out by business consultants Deloitte, a full two-thirds (66 percent) said that their companies were planning to increase their use of remote work.

The companies surveyed represent some of the biggest in Germany, with 62 percent having revenues of more than EUR 500 million and 36 percent of more than EUR one billion a year.

One major motivation is reducing costs. 71 percent of the managers interviewed said that saving money was a top priority, with 37 percent announcing that they aimed to reduce office space.

The shift looks set to create business opportunities for digital entrepreneurs. 43 percent of respondents said that they would be stepping up cybersecurity, 61 percent stated that they wanted to invest in the “optimization of organizational and business procedures” and 47 percent foretold greater emphasis on “software, data, IT networks and website activities.”