Steiner Office Barometer 2022: Hybrid working is the trend
How popular is working from home after the home office requirement has been lifted? The Steiner Office Barometer identifies three types of work: 33 percent prefer working in the office, 42 percent would like a hybrid working model and 25 percent of those surveyed would like to work mostly from home. Women work less frequently in the home office, according to the result of the population-representative survey.
Working from home has established itself as a form of work for many after the home office obligation has been lifted. Where home office is possible (for 60% of those surveyed), around three quarters currently work at least partially in the home office. This proportion is significantly lower for women than for men (66% vs. 81%), although more women would like to work more in the home office. One reason for the lower proportion is that women are more likely to do jobs that do not allow them to work from home.
This development is reflected in changed living situations: a good quarter of those surveyed for whom home office would theoretically be possible moved in the past year or is planning to move. Of these, 42 percent state that the work situation influences this decision. The data suggests that with a higher desired home office workload, a longer commute and higher housing costs are accepted.
Around a quarter (27%) expect adjustments in workplace design. 66 percent would like separate rooms for concentrated work. Individual offices that can be used when needed are very popular with 64 percent of those surveyed. The central location of the workplace with good connections to public transport remains very important for 74 percent of those surveyed.
Three work types
33 percent of those surveyed (the «office types») prefer working in an office. They would be willing to do a maximum of 20 percent of their workload in the home office. They are often at the beginning or end of their professional careers and often work for medium-sized SMEs. Most of them work in companies that have their own office space. “Office types” see disadvantages when working from home, especially in the difficult communication on an interpersonal and professional level.
Hybrid working models are very popular with 42 percent (the “hybrid types”). They are mostly in the middle of their professional careers and work more often than average in public administration or with financial service providers and insurance companies. For them, the more difficult communication is the biggest disadvantage of working from home. 30 percent fear the loss of corporate culture for their company. Because they lack the interpersonal and professional exchange in the office, most do not want to spend more than 50 percent of their working hours in the home office.
The majority of people working from home are well received by 25 percent (the “home office types”). They work more often than average in the information/communications sector with jobs that are mostly in open-plan offices. Supervisor functions are rarer in this group and they see no disadvantages for themselves or for the company when working from home.
Steiner and the working world of the future
Steiner AG has been dealing intensively with the “working world of the future” for several years. Last autumn, the company held an internal competition on this subject, in which around 50 of its own real estate specialists took part. The innovative concepts received were evaluated by a specialist jury and are now being incorporated into the development of innovative products and solutions for the office sector. Michael Schiltknecht, Co-CEO of Steiner AG, praises the great diversity of the contributions: “At Steiner, employees can get actively involved when it comes to developing their own workplace environment. We not only want to develop innovative concepts for our customers, but also implement them in our company». According to Michael Schiltknecht, Steiner AG will introduce a new, inspiring working environment on its premises this year, which will offer space for concentrated work as well as for collaborative exchange between employees.
Representative study with 1000 respondents
The study was carried out by Marketagent.com Schweiz AG on behalf of Steiner AG from February 16 to 20, 2022. It is based on more than 1000 online interviews with web-active and working people from Switzerland between the ages of 18 and 75 and included more than 40 questions.