Home office: Efficiency and productivity in the office, home office and on the move
Updated: 08.07.2024 | Reading time: 12 minutes
This text is machine translated.
The home office is now firmly anchored in the world of work. Companies in almost all sectors are increasingly relying on hybrid working models. This means that some or all employees can choose how they divide their working time between the office and home office according to their needs. The combination of office presence and home office is regarded as forward-looking, as it meets with a high level of acceptance among employers and employees and makes companies productive. In this guide, you will find out which formal and technical framework conditions are relevant for working from home and how you can ensure that working from home works.
A hybrid workplace can be organized predominantly remotely or it can rely primarily on on-site presence, with only individual teams working from home or remotely. Many companies rely on fixed presence days for personal collaboration and home office on the other days. The willingness of employees to work from home is high overall.
How you weight the ratio of on-site and remote working in your company depends on the operational requirements and the wishes of your employees. It is best to make the home office an integral part of the corporate culture. Ensure a good balance between productivity and collaboration.
The legal framework for working from home
The legal cornerstones are clear: where employees perform their work is determined by their employment contract.
However, more and more employees want to be able to choose flexibly between office and home office. They have found that more flexibility than the traditional 9-to-5 day works better for them. Fixed working hours are perceived as disruptive to the work-life balance. Without a home office option, it is therefore often difficult for companies to fill vacancies. “No applicants without a home office”, is how HR departments put it in a nutshell.
The home office as a workplace requires the employee's consent. The employer cannot simply send the employee to work from home if this option is not contractually regulated. In most cases, the employer cannot unilaterally introduce or even enforce a home office arrangement. A corresponding agreement can be part of the employment contract or regulated in a separate agreement, for example in a works agreement or an addendum to the employment contract.
Good to know: Home office arrangements do not necessarily have to be set out in writing. However, it is recommended in order to ensure clarity for all parties involved.
Record working hours: The landmark ruling by the Federal Labor Court clarifies that companies are subject to the obligation to record working hours. Every employer must set up an adequate system for recording working hours. And in the home office (teleworking), the same rules apply to time recording as at the office workplace. Employers and supervisors therefore have to deal with the correct recording of working time at changing work locations.
Tip: The home office is not a workstation for sick employees. The principle of “sick is sick” applies: If an employee is unable to work due to illness, the employer may not force them to work from home on sick leave. As a sick note does not constitute a ban on working, employees can work from home on a voluntary basis despite a certificate of incapacity for work.
Occupational health and safety, accident insurance and data protection
Clarity for employers and employees: In principle, the same requirements for occupational safety, accident insurance cover, data protection and compliance apply in the home office as in the company workplace.
1. Occupational safety
The ergonomic, health-promoting requirements for the working environment in the company naturally also apply to the office at home. The Workplace Ordinance (ASchG) specifies what such a space should look like, how big the room should be, how high the desk should be and how big the monitor should be.
2.Accident insurance
Accidents that occur on company premises are generally covered by statutory accident insurance. But what happens within your own four walls? When does it still count as an accident at work and when does it no longer? For example, does accident insurance have to step in if an employee falls down the stairs on the way from their desk at home to the kitchen? This is difficult to define in the home office, as the boundaries between private life and work are often blurred. It is therefore best to clearly delineate the two areas of life. So if the accident happens during a work-related phone call, it is classified as a work-related accident. If you scald your hand while making coffee in the kitchen, statutory accident insurance will probably not cover it. In the end, the decision will be made on a case-by-case basis, as it depends on the exact circumstances of the accident.
3. Data protection
When it comes to sensitive data, special care is required. This is because data protection regulations must also be observed in the home office. This means that the study must have a lockable cabinet in which paper documents can be stored. The room itself must also be lockable. However, the employer can also prohibit employees from taking sensitive data home. They can also stipulate that the equipment is to be used exclusively for work purposes. Checking private emails and surfing is prohibited. Each company must check with its IT department what the situation is with digital data, as it depends on what data is involved and how the company's infrastructure is structured.
Tip:
The employer's duty of care is enshrined in the Occupational Health and Safety Act. It also applies to mobile employees, teleworking and working from home. Labor law prescribes a risk assessment of the workplace, the aim of which is to prevent accidents at work. This means that the employer must also consider work at the home workplace as part of their risk assessment. Technical, organizational and working time factors must be taken into account.
Productive working in the home office depends heavily on the technology in the digital workplace. Many companies are unable to exploit the potential of their employees working from home because the end devices used, the accessories, the digital platforms or all of the above are not suitable. This prevents companies from becoming more efficient, innovative and successful.
Rule of thumb: Make sure you have good equipment - this is the only way to fully exploit the possibilities of home offices. Either the company provides employees with an appropriately configured computer - usually a notebook - and administers it, or the employees use their private computer.
COBO or COPE Strategy
If the company provides the hardware and software, two models are possible: With the COBO strategy (Corporate Owned, Business Only), the employee receives a company-owned device that they may only use for business purposes. With the COPE model (Corporate Owned, Personally Enabled), the employee may also use the company laptop for private purposes.
BYOD (Bring Your Own Device)
As part of BYOD models, employees also use their private devices for work. This means that business and often security-relevant data is stored on the device. With regard to data protection and compliance, it is therefore important to develop a coherent security concept.
Tip:
Regardless of the model used, secure access protection, preferably with two-factor authentication, is strongly recommended. Also ensure a clear technical separation of private and business data.
Home office: What technical equipment makes sense?
A poorly equipped home office costs time and reduces productivity. It can even affect your health. That's why it's important not to save money at the wrong end. The laptop is the heart of the technical home office equipment. Business laptops are particularly recommended. Depending on the task at hand, the following hardware components are required:
Solving technical challenges in the home office
Whether secure access to protected files, coordination with colleagues and superiors or the use of IP telephones and softphone apps: the technical equipment determines optimal digital communication and collaboration. Here are three aspects to consider.
Ensure teamwork
Can your employees in the home office access their emails, do they have access to documents and applications and can they work on projects together with colleagues? If you have not already done so, set up appropriate accounts, access and access authorizations and monitor them. Make sure that employees can make incoming and outgoing phone calls using their office number.
Avoid gaps in accessories in the home office
Peripherals and accessories are an often neglected aspect of home office collaboration. Efficiency often suffers because, for example, high-quality headsets and webcams are not available to optimally transmit images and sound in video meetings in both directions. Or notebooks cannot make the most of their flexibility because no docking station is available. It can integrate the mobile computer into the fixed structures of an office.
Ensure WLAN range
If the wireless distance between the wireless router and the home office workstation is too long or there are sources of interference, the data rate and stability of the connection will drop. Wi-Fi repeaters with a mesh function are an effective way of eliminating dead spots easily and permanently.
Who bears the costs for the home office?
In principle, the employer is obliged to provide the employee with the necessary work equipment and to bear the costs for this.
The extent to which the employer must also provide additional office equipment such as a desk, office chair and lighting is controversial. If the place of work is exclusively the home office, the company is primarily responsible. If the employee switches between the office and home office, it is common for the employer to provide financial support for the home office workplace. Different arrangements can also be made, for example that the employee uses their own equipment at their own expense.
Can I deduct the costs of my home office from my taxes?
In Austria, the costs of a home office can be deducted from tax under certain conditions. The prerequisite for this is that the home office is used exclusively for professional purposes and no other workplace is available. The deductible costs include rent, furnishings and operating costs.
Tip: Consult with your employer. If you are unsure, consult a tax advisor.