Working from home: yes or no? Or would you rather commute by train?
Imagine this: You’re sitting on the train, concentrating on a project – and suddenly a photo of you appears on social media: “This is not what working from home looks like!” 🚄💻
Headlines like this appeared recently when there was discussion in Germany about employees who regularly use their train journeys as working time. Critics see this as blurring the line between productive work and leisure time. But for many, mobile working has long been part of everyday life.
Working from home – productivity booster or lazybones’ paradise?
Recent studies provide solid insights:
- Stable trend: According to the Ifo Institute, 24.5% of all employees in Germany worked at least partially from home in February 2025—a stable figure compared to 23.4% in August 2024. This means that working from home has become firmly established.(ifo Institut, The Munich Eye)
- Industry differentiation: Employees in the service sector are particularly likely to work from home (34.3%) – less so in areas such as manufacturing (16.9%), retail (12.5%), and construction (4.6%). (ifo Institut, The Munich Eye)
- Lack of enforcement of formal requirements: A survey conducted by the Indeed platform also showed that over 25% of employees work from home more often than officially permitted—often through informal agreements with their supervisors. (Newsworm)
Our experience at 3kubik: Working from home? It’s working!
Honestly? At 3kubik, we were already committed to working from home and flexible working long before COVID-19—and it has definitely paid off! 🚀 We have no productivity issues, just satisfied people who are better able to balance their work and private lives.
Flexibility creates balance: Parents can take their children to daycare without stress, appointments are easier to schedule, and working hours can be adapted to suit individual biorhythms. A happy team means good results. 💡
Skills shortage?
Dann lasst uns mal umdenken!
Given the shortage of skilled workers, it is high time to rethink old working models. Anyone who still insists on a 9-to-5 office job today risks losing the best talent. Flexibility is in demand—talented people want it (and those who don’t offer it will fall by the wayside). 🤷♀️
Without the need for physical presence, it is also possible to recruit across regions and better reach people with different life circumstances (e.g., physical limitations, caregiving responsibilities, childcare).
Trust-based working hours and time tracking:
Can they coexist?
A common misconception: trust-based working hours do not mean no time recording. In fact, since a ruling by the Federal Labor Court (BAG) in September 2022, employers in Germany must record their employees’ working hours.(reworked.co)
However, this does not mean that trust-based working hours are a thing of the past. Flexible models remain possible—provided that time recording is implemented in a legally compliant manner. (reworked.co)
Conclusion
However, this does not mean that trust-based working hours are a thing of the past. Flexible models remain possible—provided that time recording is implemented in a legally compliant manner.