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“Home Office”, “Remote” or “Mobile Office”: In an interview, a lawyer explains what the terms mean and whether they even exist under labor law.

Important for applicants: What is the difference between home office, remote and mobile office?

The terms ‘home office’ and ‘mobile work’ or ‘mobile office’ are often used synonymously, as lawyer Christian Solmecke explains: “But the legislature knows neither one nor the other, only so-called ‘telework’.” “Remote” also has no employment law meaning.

“According to the Workplace Ordinance, ‘telework’ means computer workstations set up and equipped by the employer in the employee’s home,” says Solmecke. This is based on a corresponding contractual agreement in which the details are regulated. However, general usage also allows for non-regulated forms of working outside the company.

“Accordingly, ‘home office’ means the possibility of doing the work in one’s own apartment,” explains the lawyer. Mobile working is also part of the non-regulated special form of work. “However, unlike the ‘home office’, the spatial dimension is missing.” Mobile working is characterized solely by the provision of work outside of the company at changing work locations. “This can also include your own apartment, but also traveling by train or staying in a hotel,” says Solmecke.

Home Office: What does that mean in terms of labor law?

Christian Solmecke sees the same legal requirements for all formulations. However, there is a distinction, for example with regard to the scope and reach of the employer’s obligations under labor law. “If there is a so-called teleworkplace, the requirements of the Occupational Health and Safety Act and the Workplace Ordinance must be observed. If, on the other hand, there is home office in the actual sense or mobile work, the Workplace Ordinance does not apply,” explains the lawyer.

However, occupational safety measures must still be observed. Because the insurance protection applies when working at home or on the go as well as in the company. “As long as someone is doing an activity that serves the company and suffers an accident, they enjoy statutory accident protection,” says Solmecke. However, it must be determined in each individual case whether the accident happened during a business or private activity. The lawyer advises every company that offers home office to define binding framework conditions, whether in a company agreement or through individual agreements.

“Home Office”, “Remote” and “Mobile Office” are not labor law terms and do not differ significantly. Legislative requirements are blurred. If a company wants to be really legal, it should offer telecommuting. However, the regulations must then be strictly observed.

The rapid spread of Corona has led to more people working from home. The home office offers many advantages: no commute to work, a personal workplace, and a more flexible organization of the day. But how can productivity be maintained or increased in the home office? We have collected the best tips for more productivity.

Effectively increase productivity

To ensure that your productivity in the home office does not drop, you should heed a few useful tips. Because they help to increase your productivity. At the same time, you make sure that the blanket doesn’t fall on your head. The following advice not only helps in the home office but also in normal everyday work.

1) Create a work environment and increase productivity

Setting up an adequate workplace plays an important role in ensuring your own productivity. If you’re sitting on the couch in front of the TV, you’re bound to struggle to be productive. It can also be difficult to stay focused in a cluttered environment. That’s why you should organize and tidy up before you start work. At the same time, you should make sure that work and private life are separated spatially. Ideally, you use a table in the study and get an ergonomic chair. Also, make sure your workspace is tidy and has enough natural daylight.

2) Develop and maintain a routine

Before you drive to work, you probably have a routine. For example, many people like to drink a coffee after getting up and then freshen up for work. You should also maintain this routine in the home office. Because that helps your brain to understand that you are still at work. Consequently, this can increase your productivity. It also helps mentally to swap your pajamas for work clothes to get into the workflow and overcome tiredness.

3) set priorities to work more productively

If you work from home, you should create a work schedule. It is important to set priorities, which you can record in a to-do list. Working through these priorities motivates and leads to more productivity in the home office. At the same time, the most important tasks are completed without forgetting anything. Such time management in stressful everyday life can work wonders.

4) More productivity in the home office through timeboxing

Likewise, the method of timeboxing can help to work more productively. Because this method ensures clear time management by giving the tasks to be completed in a precise time frame. This prevents getting lost or dawdling in a task. Of course, you should set realistic time frames. For example 30-60 minutes for emails, 45 minutes for the team meeting, and 90 minutes for the new project.

5) Prevent procrastination and increase productivity

Who doesn’t know it, there’s an unpleasant task waiting for you and you start putting it off. Instead, you start doing pretty much everything else. In the home office you suddenly devote yourself to washing clothes, start cleaning, or thinking about redesigning the living room. It’s all part of procrastination. So that this doesn’t happen to you and you are productive, divide the unpleasant task into several steps. Success will boost your confidence and increase productivity.

6) More productivity through breaks and exercise

Being productive also means taking breaks at the right moment. After all, it’s impossible to work in a highly concentrated manner for eight hours a day. In the Stepstone study, almost half of all respondents stated that they take few breaks. There must be breaks, such as a short walk, to relax the mind and prevent pain in the back and neck area. A mini-workout at the work table is also conceivable and keeps you fit in everyday life. Of course, don’t forget about lunch. Studies have found that there is a correlation between being productive and eating lunch.

7) Don’t multitask to be more productive

It’s wrong to think that multitasking gets you more done. On the contrary, working on tasks at the same time can lead to getting bogged down. In the end, you started many tasks but didn’t finish any of them. Then it can be very demotivating. So stick to your work schedule and take one step at a time. So you will certainly ensure more productivity in the home office.

8) Consciously eliminate distractions

Since there are no control mechanisms in the home office, you have to develop them yourself, otherwise the temptation to get distracted is just too great. Experts advise working with timetables and to-do lists in order not to lose the thread. You should mute your cell phone or turn off notifications that have nothing to do with work. It also helps to see all the pages you’re working on in full-screen mode so you’re not tempted to open new tabs that don’t contribute to the current activity. You should also let family members know that there should be no disturbances at certain times.

9) Keep in touch with the college

When asked what is the best thing about work, quite a few people will say the colleagues. A home office does not mean that contact with the college has to be lost. There are apps and programs that help to stay in touch. If you keep in regular contact with your colleagues, you keep the social component alive. You should also maintain your network to maintain the social component of the job. The exchange with the colleagues can help to solve one or the other task. All of these things help to keep the “connection” to work and increase self-motivation.

10) Delegate tasks and increase productivity

So that small or a large number of tasks do not hold you back, you should delegate tasks that others can also take on. Because maybe someone has more time to relieve you of tasks. So you not only increase your own productivity but that of the entire team. Delegating can not only be helpful in the working world but also ensure a quick house cleaning at home, provided everyone helps.

Digital coffee breaks

A digital coffee break is a good way for you in your home office to exchange ideas and stay in touch with your colleagues. During a coffee break, you can even use web tools such as Zoom, Skype or Microsoft Teams not only for customer meetings, but also for internal meetings a delicious cup of coffee.

Variety in coffee making

If you don’t have a coffee machine at home and still don’t want to do without your daily coffee in your home office, you can use alternative ways of preparing coffee. Alternatives would be: The French press, stovetop pot or the classic filter coffee, for a varied coffee enjoyment.

The advantage: the coffee dose can be determined individually with this preparation method. A professional coffee machine in the office can offer a variety of different coffee specialties. A café crème to wake you up in the morning and a delicious cappuccino in the afternoon – treat yourself to your favorite coffee at home. You can find delicious recipes for a latte macchiato or an iced coffee on our coffee perfect page for coffee recipes. Have fun preparing!

Coffee alternatives

Another tip for your coffee break is to try coffee alternatives. It’s no longer a secret that green and black tea also contain caffeine, a stimulant. Why don’t you give it a try? A hot lemon can also push you just as much as coffee!

Unlike caffeine, the high vitamin C content of the citrus fruit is the reason for more energy and focus. The metabolism is stimulated, which is an absolute advantage due to the reduced movement at home. Mate tea is also popular these days. The drink is made from the leaves of the Mate tree (Yerba / Erva), which are infused with hot or cold water. These can be bought in every supermarket and are a good change for the otherwise classic coffee break in everyday office life, which also keeps you awake.

Walks and coffee to go

Anyone who works all day from home in the home office or spends hours in the office in front of their own computer quickly forgets to go out into the fresh air. The lunch break is ideal for a short walk, because fresh air also gives you a new energy boost. If you don’t want to just start walking aimlessly, you can get a coffee to go from the bakery, café or kiosk. So you get your beloved coffee and at the same time have some exercise before you go back to your desk.

Conclusion: treat yourself to a coffee break

Treat yourself to a coffee break and enjoy a cup full of energy from the coffee machine in your office. Funny coffee breaks should become an integral part of your everyday office life, taking a coffee break with your colleagues will do you and your entire team good. Take advantage of the good properties of coffee, these are diverse and can be combined with our tips for your coffee break with every day at work. Whether in the office or in the home office, a coffee break has many advantages and positive effects on your everyday work. Don’t have a fully automatic coffee machine for your office yet? Use the service to rent a professional fully automatic coffee machine and benefit from the many advantages of a coffee machine in the office.

For many employees, the coffee break is part of working hours and is enjoyed either with colleagues, during a chat or on a short walk with a coffee to go. A coffee break during working hours always makes sense, whether it’s a cappuccino, café latte or espresso, coffee has many good qualities. Whether you enjoy your coffee alone or with your co-workers in the office, a coffee break can work wonders. We tell you five good reasons for a coffee break and give you helpful tips on how to get your caffeine kick.

Coffee lowers blood pressure

Whether you love latte or are a fan of the “little black one”, you can’t go wrong with a coffee break. Even if it has a reputation for getting the blood racing, coffee has a positive effect on our blood pressure in the long term and is therefore particularly effective during a stressful day at work. So don’t be fooled and include a little coffee break.

In this way you ensure that you can go back to your tasks with more relaxation. Just one cup a day lowers blood pressure, but of course you should not overdo it with consumption.

Coffee increases the ability to concentrate

If you find your eyelids getting heavy and you don’t know what task you were about to complete, it might be time for a coffee break. The caffeine in coffee has a vasodilating effect, allowing more blood to flow to the brain and stimulating the central nervous system.

This better supply brings an energy boost and the well-known stimulant effect that makes coffee famous.

Drinking coffee brings you together

Of course, you can also enjoy your coffee in private – but it’s more sociable to drink it together with colleagues, so make an appointment with your colleagues for a coffee break. You can relax for a moment and recharge your batteries for your working day.

Taking a coffee break together has other benefits too, as it allows you to get to know your colleagues better, and drinking coffee in good company brings you together as a team and promotes a pleasant atmosphere in the team. Create a connection between enjoying coffee and office work, you can not only discuss private topics, but also discuss important tasks or even the last quarterly report over a delicious cup of coffee. As you can see, the coffee break can enrich your everyday office life and have a lot of positive effects, try it out!

Antioxidant Boost

Even if some people say that coffee has an unhealthy effect, it has been proven that our coffee contains antioxidants. Antioxidants have an important physiological meaning due to their effect as radical scavengers. These free radicals are considered to be partly responsible for the accelerated aging process and various cardiovascular diseases because they damage the body’s own molecules. So when we take a coffee break during work hours, we help our body protect itself from diseases.

Luckily with deceleration

If you spend all day staring at the flickering screen, answering emails every second and one call chasing the next, then it is definitely time for a coffee break during the stressful working hours in the office and in the home office. How about some coffee yoga, for example? While the water is bubbling through the coffee machine, just stretch and stretch a bit.

Or rocking back and forth on your toes with the hot cup in your hand and relaxing your neck between two sips: the coffee break can be used as a little slowing down of everyday work in the office or in the home office and helps us to return to our tasks refreshed .