Digital life has changed during the coronavirus crisis. Our everyday lives and our work are becoming increasingly digital – the current situation is accelerating digital change by leaps and bounds. This is confirmed by the first published study results of the D21 Digital Index.
This year, in addition to covering digital teaching and digital health, the study also asked about working from home during coronavirus:
For example, around a third of German citizens are already working from home or mobile working. As a result of the pandemic, 38 percent of users have been working from home more than before. Compared to the previous year, the proportion of employees with an office job has doubled and now stands at around 60 percent. The reasons why 68 percent of respondents have not used remote working so far include the fact that it is not possible in their job (71 percent) or company (18 percent), but also that there is no interest in working from home (11 percent).
When it comes to determining the proportion of time spent working from home in their daily routine, 39 percent of those surveyed said that they can determine their working hours individually after consultation. Around a third are free to decide whether to work from home at any time. For only 15 percent, companies stipulate fixed times.
A large majority (89 percent) believe that the crisis has fundamentally led to a more digital way of working with less travel, more mobile working and a new organisation of work. One in three said that their employer provided adequate technical equipment for working from home. Well over half of users (64 percent) felt that their employer provided them with sufficient support when switching to digital working. This is because there is also no distraction from colleagues when working from home, meaning that almost two thirds of respondents stated that they were able to work more efficiently than in the office. Another advantage of working from home is that 63 percent of the office-based employees surveyed see greater flexibility in balancing their professional and private lives.
After the coronavirus pandemic, 36 percent of respondents with an office job would like to work flexibly from home for at least half of their working hours in the future. Users who already had experience of working from home before the pandemic can even imagine organizing more than half (51 percent) of their working hours remotely. By contrast, only one in four (25 percent) of the managers surveyed said they would like to enable their employees to work remotely even after the crisis. This clearly shows the differences in expectations between managers and employees.
When it comes to attitudes towards digital work in general, 81 percent say that professional success requires lifelong learning. For 41 percent, work processes have changed noticeably as a result of digitalisation. 37 percent of respondents stated that their employer promotes work-life balance.
Background:
Initiative D21 publishes an annual status report, the D21 Digital Index, to map the level of digitalisation in society. This study, which has been conducted since 2013, documents the digital transformation of German society and examines the level of digitalisation of the population on an empirical basis. It serves as a basis for decision-making for political, economic, civil society and scientific stakeholders.
In the D21 initiative, the Education working group offers a neutral platform for exchange, in particular to promote topics relating to digital education in Germany in a targeted manner. The network also conducts debates, exchanges experiences, breaks down potential barriers and teaches digital skills.
The network for the digital society – Initiative D21 for short – is an association of around 200 member companies and institutions as well as stakeholders from politics, administration, business and science. aconium GmbH is also a long-standing partner of the non-profit D21 association.
The complete D21 Digital Index will be published in February 2021.