The COVID 19 pandemic has led to a sharp increase in homeworking. After some positive experiences, many employees would like to have more flexibility in their choice of workplace, with a tendency to alternate between working from home and working in the office being preferred and, in some cases, already established (also referred to as hybrid working). In the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, a number of scientific studies have been initiated on the effects of remote working by employees. The temporal and spatial flexibilisation of remote and hybrid working leads to a gain in autonomy for employees; at the same time, there is a risk that work and life boundaries become blurred with with effects on employees' health. A comprehensive analysis of current studies has not yet been carried out. This is of relevance as there are still many uncertainties in Germany with regard to the legal and operational design of hybrid work modalities and contexts. Against the background of the increase in hybrid forms of work, an investigation of the effects and possible regulatory issues is of high social and political relevance.

Objectives and approach

Within the framework of a TAB short study, current studies on the social effects of home office will be evaluated on the basis of a comprehensive literature analysis. In addition, interviews with experts from the scientific community will be conducted to further analyse the current state of affairs. The aim is to work through the state of knowledge on the social effects of home office and to identify gaps in knowledge and research on the basis of specific guiding questions.