Surveys: Home and hybrid working has found its natural reach and level
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Up until the summer holidays of 2024, just more than 40%, four out of 10 employed people in Denmark, had practised homework within the last four weeks.
It was the same considerable level as when homework during the pandemic peaked and was measured highest in the first months of 2021, according to a survey issued in August by Statistics Denmark.
The survey compares people frequently working from home, defined as more than half of the working days, with those who work from home occasionally - the latter group is now clearly the largest.
In all industry groups interviewed, homework was measured more, in some significantly more widespread in mid-2024 than before the pandemic.
Guidelines
"After COVID-19, many longed for their workplaces and sought to return to physical presence. Today, most workplaces have developed some guidelines and policies for homework.
Hybrid work has taken root, as many workplaces have taken on a more natural and reflective attitude towards the use of homework," a labour market researcher at Danish Aalborg University, Thomas Bredgaard, says.
   After COVID-19, the hybrid work has taken root. Today, several workplaces show a more natural and reflective approach to using homework, a Danish labour market researcher, Thomas Bredgaard, says. Photos: iStock |
Many studies demonstrating the high work ethic, undiminished efficiency and productivity of hybrid and home-working employees have shamed the scepticism of not so few supervisors worldwide.
Experts predict that the share of remote workers in multinational corporations will fluctuate until an optimal balance is achieved in each workplace.
Firmly established
According to a recent survey by the Munich think tank Ifo Institute, three out of four German companies that allow working from home want to keep this arrangement. Just 4% want to abolish homework.
In the US, several well-known companies have been loudly beating the drum for the past year that they require limited homework and that their employees must, in future, be physically present at their offices more frequently.
 According to a recent survey from the German think tank Ifo Institute, three out of four German companies that allow work from home want to maintain the scheme. Just 4% want to abolish homework. |
”The media very often focus on the individual companies that loudly want their homework reduced, and this distorts the actual situation and development," Ifo researcher Jean-Victor Alipour explains.
"The results of our surveys reject trends pretending office workers are returning to their physical workplaces. On the contrary. Homework will remain firmly established in Germany. The clocks will not be set back until 2019!"
Implemented
In the American labour market, recent data indicates that the practice of corporate remote work has become stable and is now widely recognized as being implemented.
Over the past year, numerous companies have ended their office leases and secured new ones more suitable for their evolving needs, aligning with new workflows and the growing prevalence of remote work.
  The opportunities for remote work have decreased a little since it peaked, but they seem to have stabilized well above the level before the pandemic. |
"The opportunities for remote work have declined a bit since it peaked, but they seem to have stabilized well above pre-pandemic levels," Nick Bloom, a professor and researcher in corporate governance at Stanford University, states.
"Homework will not disappear again. On the contrary. If we look five years ahead, the scope of employees' remote work will undoubtedly be higher than it is right now." ●
Read more:
Forbes.com: UK remote and hybrid working statistics 2024
Globenewswire.com: The secrets to successful remote working
Nbcbayarea.com: Why remote work has staying power - it´s still kicking
Forbes.com: Hybrid and remote work still on the rise, despite misconceptions
