Working from home: what it means to work from a home office

Working in your pajamas? Enjoying the comforts of your home? No annoying col­leagues around you? For many, setting up an office at home is tempting – but do you actually know what it entails? As fantastic as the working con­di­tions sound: working from home doesn't just come with benefits. When you switch from your familiar office en­vi­ron­ment to a workplace at home, there are a few rules you need to follow to make sure your work at home is as good as possible.

When we speak of a home office, we speak of employees – or free­lancers – that move their workplace home. So, instead of sitting in an office with col­leagues, you set up your workplace at home but still do the same work. Working remotely, therefore, has parallels to co-working, but differs from it quite con­sid­er­ably. Even in a co-working space, you are not in a familiar office en­vi­ron­ment, but you share the space with other workers – and you are not in your own home.

The home office can be regarded as a special kind of mobile office or remote work due to the setting where you perform your work. If the technical con­di­tions are right, an employee can the­o­ret­i­cal­ly get their work done from anywhere in the world, as long as a stable internet con­nec­tion is in place. This is why working from home in the United States is also known as telecom­mut­ing, because work is done via telecom­mu­ni­ca­tions, including the internet.

Do you have any further questions about working from home? Our free working from home whitepa­per provides you with all the answers in a PDF file you can download

Everyone is talking about working remotely, but for a large part of the pop­u­la­tion this way of working is out of the question: Pro­fes­sion­als who work as craftsmen, in care, catering, or the hotel industry, for example, un­der­stand­ably have to be on site at their usual places of work despite the digital rev­o­lu­tion. However, the majority of office work, i.e. ac­tiv­i­ties that are mainly done on a PC, can the­o­ret­i­cal­ly be moved to the home.

But even in the fields of work that are actually pre­des­tined for the home office, it’s only true to a limited extent. Es­pe­cial­ly with regard to clients, in-person com­mu­ni­ca­tion is of utmost im­por­tance. Physical meetings between col­leagues also play a major role in many companies. Video con­fer­enc­ing is an important tool in the home office, but the im­por­tance of personal contact between col­leagues and with customers should not be un­der­es­ti­mat­ed. Therefore, in many cases an al­ter­nat­ing system is main­tained: While some days are spent working from home, others are spent in the office or with clients.

Employees, employers, but also self-employed in­di­vid­u­als have to pay attention to some aspects when setting up and running a home office. Some of these aspects are labor law or oc­cu­pa­tion­al health and safety laws. How to set up insurance in the home office and how to deduct the home office for taxes play a major role. On the other hand, one should also get used to certain behaviors so that working from home has ad­van­tages for all sides.

For many, the most important thing to know is that there is neither a general right to work remotely nor an oblig­a­tion to move one’s work home. It always depends on the agreement between employer and employee. Self-employed in­di­vid­u­als are un­der­stand­ably re­spon­si­ble for where they carry out their work. However, once you’ve decided to work from home and all legal aspects have been con­sid­ered, further pre­cau­tions must be taken. When first setting up the home office, for example, technical con­di­tions must be clarified. Every employee must also be able to access the same ap­pli­ca­tions, services, and data from home that are available in the normal office.

When setting up your workplace, you should make sure you’re setting up an ergonomic home office, and that you’re getting enough movement at your workplace. Therefore, you should also consider home office design, so that you can focus on getting your work done. If you have children and work from home, you should make sure that you can juggle work and family.

As nice as the idea of working from home sounds – there are also negative aspects to this way of working. Both the ad­van­tages and dis­ad­van­tages relate to pro­duc­tiv­i­ty and quality of work on the one hand, and to personal well-being and teamwork on the other. However, most of the dis­ad­van­tages can often be turned into ad­van­tages by in­tro­duc­ing certain behaviors and following rules.

One topic that’s relevant when working from home, for example, is work-life balance: The advantage is already apparent in the fact that you save the time spent on your daily commute. Ex­pe­ri­ence has shown, however, that home-based employees tend to work more rather than less. Here, all those involved should make sure to stick to the con­trac­tu­al working hours. In their own interest, employees must also dis­ci­pline them­selves.

For example, many people who have set up an office at home also mention the peace and quiet they have there. In a large office, there are constant dis­trac­tions: col­leagues talking to you, tele­phones ringing, and even public traffic causes anxiety. These dis­turb­ing factors are elim­i­nat­ed within your private home – although there may be other reasons for anxiety: children screaming, a package delivery, the washing machine beeping. At home, you yourself are re­spon­si­ble for ensuring a quiet working at­mos­phere.

These and other factors should be con­sid­ered, when setting up your home office.

Click here for important legal dis­claimers.