Steiner Office Barometer 2022: The hybrid working trend
How popular is working from home now that it is no longer mandatory? The Steiner Office Barometer has identified three types of worker: 33 per cent of those surveyed prefer working in the office, 42 per cent would like a hybrid working model and 25 per cent would be happy to work from home most of the time. The results of this representative survey of the population show that women work from home less often than men.
Working from home has become a fixture for many people even though it is no longer compulsory. Where working from home is possible (for 60% of respondents), around three quarters currently work at home at least some of the time. For women, this share is significantly lower than for men (66% vs. 81%), although a higher number of women would like to work more from home. A reason for the lower share might be related to the fact that women more often work in an occupation where working from home is not possible at all.
This trend is reflected in changing living conditions: A good quarter of the respondents for whom home office would theoretically be possible have moved in the past year or are planning to move. Of these, 42 per cent said that the work situation influenced this decision. The data suggest that with a higher desired home office workload, a longer commute and higher housing costs are being accepted.
Around a quarter (27 per cent) expect adjustments in workplace design. 66 per cent want separate areas for concentrated work. Individual offices which can be used as needed are highly rated by 64 per cent of the respondents. The central location of workplaces with good public transport connections remains very important for 74 per cent of respondents.
Three different working types
33 per cent of respondents prefer working in the office (“office types”). They would be prepared to work from home at most 20 per cent of the time. People in this group tend to be at the start or end of their career and many work for medium-sized SMEs. The majority work for companies where they have their own office. “Office types” see disadvantages in working from home, in particular because it hampers personal and professional communication.
42 per cent of respondents favour hybrid working models (“hybrid types”). They tend to be in the middle of their career, with an above-average number working in public administration, financial services or insurance. For them, the biggest drawbacks of working from home is that communication is more difficult. 30 per cent fear the loss of corporate culture as a result of the interpersonal and professional exchange they lack in the office. Therefore, most of them do not want to spend more than 50 per cent of their working time working from home.
About 25 per cent of respondents would like to work from home most of the time (“WFH types”). An above-average proportion of people in this group work in the information/communication sector, mainly in open-plan offices. For this group, supervisor functions are less frequent and they do not see any disadvantages for themselves or for the company when working from home.
Steiner and tomorrow's world of work
Steiner AG has been working intensively on “tomorrow’s world of work” for several years. An internal competition on this subject organized by the company last autumn attracted entries from around 50 in-house real estate specialists. The innovative concepts submitted were evaluated by a jury of experts and are now being used to develop innovative products and solutions for office premises. Michael Schiltknecht, Co-CEO of Steiner AG, praises the wide variety of ideas submitted: “At Steiner, employees can play an active part in shaping their own working environment. As well as developing innovative concepts for our customers, we want to use them in our own company.” According to Michael Schiltknecht, Steiner AG will introduce a new, insipiring working environment in its premises before the end of the year, which will provide space for both concentrated work and collaborative exchange between colleagues.
Representative study with 1,000 respondents
The second Steiner Office Barometer survey (the first was in spring 2021) was carried out on behalf of Steiner AG from 16 to 20 February 2022 by Marketagent.com Schweiz AG. The study is based on over 1,000 online interviews with working active web users from Switzerland aged between 18 and 75 and comprised more than 40 questions.
A detailed evaluation of the study can be found here: www.steiner.ch/officebarometer
Steiner AG
Steiner AG is a leading real estate service provider with a focus on project development and construction. Founded in 1915, it has its headquarters in Zurich and is represented by branches in Basel, Bern, Lucerne, Tolochenaz and Geneva. With a development portfolio worth more than CHF 6 billion, Steiner is one of Switzerland's largest real estate developers. Its portfolio comprises a wide range of residential, office, industrial and logistics projects plus proprietary product innovations such as the Werkarena, Manufakt and Steiner Student Hotel brands. In French-speaking Switzerland, Steiner Construction is the market leader in real estate construction working on the total (design-and-build) and general contractor principle. Steiner AG contributes its 100-plus years of experience to the two recently established business areas: Steiner Financial Initiatives for new investment solutions, and Steiner Digital for digital collaboration platforms serving properties' entire life cycles.
Information for the media
Steiner AG
Corporate Communications
Tel.: +41 58 445 20 00, corpcom@steiner.ch
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Visualisation
According to the Steiner Office Barometer, inspiring work environments that offer space for both concentrated work and collaborative exchange between employees are in vogue.
