Home office in transition: Current studies and their significance for the working world

According to new Ifo Institute surveys, it's obvious: Employers are significantly more attractive to applicants if they offer home office options. After a Ifo survey From October 7, 2025, every fifth job posting offers working from home. This goes hand in hand with the New Work survey by the Xing network, in which, in particular, for the generation of millennials and Gen Z, the ability to work remotely plays a major role.

Another publication from the Ifo Institute focuses on the topic of office utilization. This is how Ifo found out That in turn, a quarter of all companies in Germany report that office space utilization is too low. How can companies combine these two insights? This article highlights the scientific findings on the topic Home office accompanying the topic of office utilization in more detail and advises on further steps to strengthen the employer's image and revive the office — with the introduction of flexible working and the established home office model.

Every fourth company reports that their office workload is too low. Why is that so?

Compared to the last survey by the Ifo Institute, the trend towards downsizing offices has continued to intensify. Around 26.3% of offices in Germany are underutilized — and the trend is rising. For this reason, around 12.5% of offices are also planning to reduce the existing space.

A major reason for office vacancy is the underutilization of office space because of home office and remote work, two models that are firmly established in the modern working world in many companies. As a result, the desks in established offices, which are usually used permanently by only one employee, remain empty and usually unused.

What can be done about office underutilization?

The opportunity in Home office According to various studies, such as the “New Work Barometer” from Haufe Verlag, an important employer branding and benefit point for some employees. In the worst case scenario, forcing them back to work can result in a wave of layoffs.

So what options do employers have to make “back-to-office” attractive and revitalize offices?

First of all, we have to get rid of the idea that every employee is in the office every day. And that doesn't just mean working from home: Employees are potentially absent simply because of vacation, illness, continuing education, external appointments and other reasons. Companies should therefore primarily think about efficiently equipping their buildings and secondarily about the opportunity to liven up these efficiently designed spaces.

A good way to fully utilize the office despite the option of hybrid work is to introduce a Desk sharing software. According to this principle, 40-70% of jobs can cover the entire team.
For companies that have not yet offered a home office, this can be a start, for example, to enable one day a week. For those companies that mobile work have established it as an integral part of corporate culture, it eases the workplace situation enormously.

A very pleasant side effect: By introducing a desk booking tool, you can use smarter analytics The actual workload is measured and acted upon as required. In this way, areas can be (further) reduced, improved and redesigned.

This would mean significant cost savings thanks to space reduction and at the same time the”Return to Office” Encourage planning, without coercion.

The importance of working from home for the company's public image

A fatal fallacy to fully utilize the office again would be to ban the home office and introduce a permanent office obligation. From a purely legal point of view, this can of course be done, but involves risks and dangers for the employer. Because according to another Ifo Institute Study from May 2025, every fifth job posting in Germany includes the opportunity to work from home. Employees want the flexibility to combine office hours and home office. Desk sharing offers the ideal solution for both facts: an attractive corporate image and cost savings through efficiently used work spaces.

The geographical significance of home office offers and the opportunities in the city and in the countryside

A look at the latest evaluations of New Work SE/XING shows: The demand for home offices is not only generational, but also varies from region to region. In particular, large cities with a high density of tech, consulting or creative industries, such as Berlin, Munich, Hamburg and Cologne, have the highest proportion of job advertisements with remote options. Competition for talent is particularly fierce there, which is why many companies specifically use home office as a strategic advantage in hiring.

At the same time, figures from the Ifo Institute and ZEW show that German companies rely on working from home above average compared to other countries. According to Ifo, employees in Germany work from home more often than employees in many other European countries. And plan despite discussions about office presence according to ZEW Only a few companies have made a complete departure from home office. On the contrary: most stick with hybrid models or expand it further.

For companies, this means that anyone who competes regionally for skilled workers can hardly avoid remote and hybrid options. Home office is no longer a “nice-to-have” but an expected basis for remaining attractive in metropolitan areas. The advantage that competent employees who live in rural regions can be recruited is also not negligible.

Desk sharing concepts and flexible use of space enable employers to optimally meet these new regional and demographic needs without creating expensive empty spaces. The combination of location-independent work and intelligently managed workplaces in the office strengthens competitiveness. Regardless of whether the employer's location is urban or rural.

Conclusion: Use the spirit of the times as an employer — think strategically from home office

All recent studies, from Ifo, ZEW, Haufe “New Work Barometer” to XING, show a clear picture: Home office is here to stay. Employees expect flexibility, employers benefit from greater attractiveness, a larger talent pool and more efficient office space.

Instead of making attendance a new dogma, companies should focus on designing offices consciously and not filling them up convulsively. An intelligent mix of home office and modern office workplaces creates an environment that increases both productivity and satisfaction.

With solutions such as Desk Booking Tools space can be used as needed, costs reduced and employees can be offered more independence and autonomy at the same time. In this way, the office is once again a place where teams like to meet, not because they have to, but because it creates added value.

Companies that understand and react to the spirit of the times secure a long-term advantage in employer branding, economical space costs and a modern work culture that attracts and retains talent. Working from home is not a disruptive factor, but a decisive success factor for the future of work and the long-term attractiveness of the employer.