Offers of Remote Working in German Job Ads Have More Than Tripled Since 2019

In Germany, the share of online job postings with a work-from-home option increased to 12 percent between 2019 and 2021. This means the figure has more than tripled compared to its 2019 level, according to an evaluation of 35 million job ads conducted by the ifo Institute and the Catholic University of Eichstätt-Ingolstadt (KU). “The rise of the work-from-home option in job postings is evident across all sectors of the economy, but it was strongest in occupations where the untapped remote-working potential was particularly high before the crisis,” says ifo researcher Jean-Victor Alipour. Rural regions are also catching up significantly as regards working from home: the difference between urban and rural areas shrank by about 30 percent between 2019 and 2020.

In particular, the companies that allow employees to work from home are more often looking to hire people with digital as well as teamwork and adaptability skills. “Our results clearly show that companies are increasingly gearing their work organizations toward working from home. Moving work activities out of the office dismantles well-established processes, both from a social perspective and regarding the organization of work itself. This is reflected in the skills that companies are looking for,” says KU researcher Christina Langer.

For example, basic computer skills are required nearly twice as often in job ads with a work-from-home option (43 percent) as in job ads that don’t mention it (22 percent). Competencies such as adaptability to change (79 percent compared to 66 percent) and teamwork skills (63 percent compared to 54 percent) are also more important for people who work from home.

The study is based on more than 35 million job ads posted in the period from January 2014 to March 2021. For the purposes of the study, the researchers combed the websites of more than 200 companies as well as all relevant online job platforms in Germany. The data was collected by US company Emsi Burning Glass, which specializes in labor market analysis.

Questions can be directed to: Jean-Victor Alipour, 0049 / 89 / 9224-1436, Alipour@ifo.de; Christina Langer, 0049 / 841 / 937-21931, Christina.Langer@ku.de.