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Study  |  04/30/2020

Digitalization by Corona? New bidt Study on Remote Work in Germany

Dietmar Harhoff, director at the Max Planck Institute for Innovation and Competition and member of the board of directors of the Bavarian Research Institute for Digital Transformation (bidt), is co-author of the study on the spread and acceptance of remote work in Germany. He stresses that companies should not return to old organizational patterns after the crisis.

[Translate to english:]
Illustration: bidt

The Bavarian Research Institute for Digital Transformation (bidt) has examined important questions concerning the spread and acceptance of work from home. To this end, bidt conducted a representative short survey among 1,595 employed adult Internet users in Germany. The analysis shows:


  • The use of remote work has increased during the crisis.
  • The satisfaction with the current situation of remote working is high.
  • Before the Corona crisis, some employers did not allow remote work.
  • Employers were generally well prepared.
  • The acceptance of remote work has increased.
  • The desire for more working from home is strong.


Dietmar Harhoff explains that there is a high level of acceptance among employees for remote work. The economy must take up this willingness, he says. Germany is lagging behind in the EU comparison when it comes to remote working. Home-based work is not only a question of organizational culture. It also leads to new management concepts and strengthens digitalization and innovative ability.


To the detailed bidt study (in German).


Here you can also listen to the podcast “Job Cuts and Remote Work: How Corona Is Changing the World of Work” (in German) in the NDR Info Speaking Time (30 April 2020) with contributions from Dietmar Harhoff.