The downsides of working from home

From your bed to the bathroom and then on to your desk to start your working day — since March this has been the new normal for many Germans.

According to a recent survey by the digital association Bitkom, more than 10 million employees — or about a quarter of Germany's working population — have been working from home. Many have gotten used to this new situation and come to appreciate the upsides. But the drawbacks have also become clearer.

Klaus Dörre is an economic sociologist at the University of Jena. He's convinced working from home will have negative consequences in the long run, for three main reasons.

Digital break room

The use of hand gestures or facial expressions is almost completely lost during video calls. Unlike in face-to-face interactions, this means employees get little to no emotional feedback. This can lead to them feeling insecure, or even aggressive, as it gets harder for them to assess their own performance. The exchange of views and information among colleagues is also lost.

"What is completely missing is the informal chat in the break room that often leads to the best ideas," Dörre told DW. "In the end, swarm intelligence doesn't work in online communication."

Unlike meetings in real life, online meetings are focused on a specific goal. The accidental encounters or conversations in the hall that are part of our usual office lives just don't happen.

While working from home might seem like it reduces the workload, Dörre warns this perception may be deceptive.

Women's double burden

For many, the first weeks and months of remote working were especially stressful. Women were hit particularly hard. In many cases, they mainly look after the kids and do a larger share of household chores. But Anja Gerlmaier from the University Duisburg Essen says it's not because we've returned to gender stereotyping. 

"Looking at the data we can clearly see that stereotypical gender roles have not made a comeback but have actually never disappeared," she told DW. According to a recent study conducted by the Bertelsmann Foundation, 69% of female respondents said that they were doing most of the household chores.

Small wonder, then, that women tend to be less satisfied with working from home than men. It starts with the choice of the workspace, Gerlmaier elaborates. More often than men, women have their domestic workspace in the kitchen or other busy parts of the house. This means they are disturbed more often.

Tough balancing act

Gerlmaier is sure that for families with children, women are often on the losing end when working from home. "Trying to teach your children Mendel's Laws and get tasks done for your employer at the same time is bound to fail," she concludes. Either they'll be labeled bad mothers or their work will suffer.

Managerial positions will once again go to their male colleagues. Balancing both child care and your profession is almost impossible, says Gerlmaier.

The closing of schools in spring made the situation even worse. "I think a lot of collateral damage was done," she said. "Women were pushed to their limits and may have experienced job- or health-related problems," Gerlmaier added. And that’s only the tip of the iceberg. According to the labor psychologist, this means it's even more important to set clear boundaries.

Not all is bad, of course. Both Dörre and Gerlmaier agree there is a lot to be learned from the current situation, as we certainly won't go back to square one once the pandemic is over. Gerlmaier believes there is a lot of potential in working from home that currently remains untapped. Businesses and policymakers need to think outside of the box, she says.

"Now is the time to make the best of this new reality and to shape it," Dörre said. There will have to be a mix between time spent in the office and time working from home.

Which brings us back to the Bitkom study: The association is calling for policymakers to actively follow these changes in the workplace and to support them with incentives for both employees and employers.

One thing is for sure: Working from home requires a clear separation between your job and your private life.