What is a home office?
What used to be called boring home work is now called home office in modern German and actually means nothing more than working from home. Depending on the profession and employer, this work at home can vary in scope.
Home-based work used to be, for example, that women did knitting and sewing work at home on behalf of others. Ironing work was also done for others. For a man with an office job to take his work home and declare Wednesday as a home office day, for example, would have been unthinkable 50 years ago.
Today, many employers offer their employees the opportunity to do some of their work from home, which is particularly convenient for families with children where both parents work. Of course, this only works if the boss and colleagues support it and if certain rules regarding working hours and accessibility are observed. Many employees have the home office options included in their employment contract.
Numerous companies have now realised that the productivity of their employees definitely increases when they can work from home and see this as an opportunity to position themselves as an attractive employer.
How does the home office work?
In fact, home office does not work in every case. But there are jobs where setting up a home office can be desirable not only on the part of the employee but even on the part of the employer. In order for this to work well for all sides, there are a few things to keep in mind.
You can find more information about home offices and many other detailed articles and tips here in our Aeris magazine.
First and foremost, an employment contract must be checked to see who is liable in the event of an insurance claim. This is because an accident during work or at the workplace must be defined accordingly. Regardless of such things, an employer must clearly communicate what results he expects from the employee in the home office. Important parameters here are accessibility, quantity or quality of work, Flexibilitytasks, deadlines and teamwork.
It is also important to clarify to what extent a home office can be connected to that of the company through the internet and telephone. A great deal of attention is paid to the issue of data protection so that employees in the home office can also receive and process confidential documents. In addition, uniform hardware must be used to ensure that the home office has the same performance as a normal office. As a rule, employers take over the acquisition and installation of the necessary hardware and software.
It is important to note that a home office does not mean being available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Free time is free time - also for dependent employees. The employer must guarantee this. However, the employee should also insist on it and pay attention to it.
Who pays for the home office?
If working from a home office is authorised and agreed, working at home is part of working time and is included in the salary. However, in most cases, the responsibility for setting up a home office lies with the employee. The employer provides a computer as well as a telephone, in some cases even a separate telephone line. The purchase of office furniture, however, is usually the responsibility of the employee.
In many cases, it is worthwhile for the employee to take a little money in hand and invest it. For example, care should be taken to ensure that the home office is equipped with some "movement seducers", such as a Aeris Active Office, which turns offices into movement spaces, and active seating furniture such as the Swopper from Aeris, which makes rigid and thus unhealthy sitting impossible. In addition, certain investments - and this also includes the ergonomic Office chair - are tax-deductible.
