Repeal of the home office requirement: What executives should consider now


"Many employees no longer allow themselves to be deprived of a right to home office"


 

In a conference with Chancellor Olaf Scholz, the federal and state governments agreed that the mandatory home office rule for employers will be abolished. As of March 20, companies will be free to decide whether to continue accepting home offices, offer flexible work models or require their employees to be present at the office. The differing expectations of employees and employers contain potential for conflict, which managers can resolve with the right conduct. But how should companies proceed in concrete terms?

Joachim Pawlik, CEO of PAWLIK Consultants says: "Around 30 percent of employees have worked in a home office for months. Many employees no longer allow themselves to be deprived of this freedom." Pawlik warns, "The home office obligation should not be replaced by a presence obligation.” He adds: “Managers must trust their employees. They’ll pay it back twice."

Andreas Kaufmann of PAWLIK Consultants advises numerous companies on hybrid working: In his observation, too many companies believe it is in their hands how mobile working is handled. "That's what talents and potential candidates decide" says Kaufmann: "Too strict presence requirement and overregulation is no longer attractive to them." Already, PAWLIK Group is finding that companies receive significantly more applications when they offer the prospect of a certain degree of flexibility overall.

 

Five recommendations for executives following the repeal of mandatory home offices.

1. Safety first. Hygiene concepts are already the norm. But especially when more people are coming together in the office again, they should be consistently adhered to. The manager is the role model here. They should not allow peer pressure to arise, in which "at last we are together again" results in too lax an approach.

2 Provide psychological security. Not everyone has the courage to come out with their concerns. The central role of the manager will be to pay attention to the very different interpretations of the current situation and to do justice to them - as far as the operational requirements allow.

3. Test new solutions. Managers should have the courage to first try out new models with remote and presence and to gain experience before tying down rules. It is better to take a pragmatic approach: try them out, reflect on them together and learn from them. Only then should a rule be laid down.

4. Rethink the office. People no longer come to the office to work alone. If you want to lure them out of the home office, you have to offer them a sense of community. This can be achieved through zoom-free zones and days of new office design - without having to remodel, shared lunches...

5. Trust instead of obligation. Mandatory rules are the last resort. It is better to discuss together and decide that "it would be good if everyone was there together on Wednesday" than to oblige employees to do so "from above". Trust is the most important imperative; employees pay it back twice. 

 

A whitepaper from PAWLIK Consultants on hybrid working can be found here

 

 

For us, “making it happen” means helping you turn your company goals into results. We transform organizations into coherent systems and develop the personal potential of employees. We use the latest scientific research results as a basis for this.

 

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