Construction costs are currently skyrocketing

Strangely, quite a few people here are sitting in the home office or even at their workplace and entertaining the forum during their working hours. But at the same time, they demand that the civil engineer, which is by the way a tough job, works non-stop for 8 hours at 30 degrees in the shade.

This flawed thinking really gets on my nerves. It’s not about WORKING HOURS. It’s about completing a task that usually has to be done within a certain timeframe. For that, I get paid by the company! My boss doesn’t give a damn whether I do my job on the toilet, at the beach, or anywhere else. He also doesn’t care if he catches me at the REWE checkout or somewhere else. What matters is that I complete my planned tasks with good quality within the agreed time. I really don’t care if the civil engineer stands around there with 10 people and only one is working. I expect the performance to be delivered within an agreed time. And if the civil engineer shows up without an excavator but instead brings 200 people with shovels – so what. Not my problem.

I googled the construction price index today for the first time after a hefty premium increase in building insurance. It made a really nasty jump in 2023. It still doesn't explain the amount of my premium, but it was quite a shock.

Insurance for new buildings is usually also very discounted and rises accordingly strongly in the first years. Additionally, construction price index, reassessment of hazards (e.g., significantly more heavy rain events), etc. Actually, this is also explained in the letter why the contribution is increasing.

Insurance for new buildings is usually also heavily discounted and increases significantly in the first few years. Additionally, construction price index, reassessment of risks (e.g. significantly more heavy rainfall events), etc.
Actually, this is also explained in the letter why the premium is rising.

Interestingly, there was nothing like that for me. A new premium was shown without any comment, the employee on the phone couldn't explain it to me either and said he would take a closer look and get back to me in writing.

Currently, we are allowed 2 days working from home and 3 days in the office. However, in our (small) company, there are colleagues who work in the warehouse or at reception or are in-house electricians, for example, who cannot work from home at all. Accordingly, they feel disadvantaged because working from home was only introduced with Corona. So nothing like "you knew that" or anything similar.

To make things worse, people here think they have to work from home even when there is an on-site appointment, just because 2 days of home office are permitted. Our management is so annoyed by this issue by now that they are considering canceling the company agreement.

Please excuse me for saying this, but that is not the employer’s problem. I only work from home because I save some fuel costs, but that would also not be my employer’s problem.

Honestly, I don’t understand that... You could also schedule appointments at the company at 5 pm and start working later that day.

As you yourself have noticed, there are different jobs with different profiles. Besides jobs that can only be done on-site, there are also those that can be done from home. A differentiation here is certainly advantageous and necessary. I do not see any disadvantage in that. I also do not stand up and complain: "The warehouse workers get their work clothes including shoes paid for—I want that in the office too!"

Honestly, in such a case, I also change my home office days. That is completely legitimate if the company agreement allows it.

Of course, my commute and the costs associated with it are my problem and not the employer’s. However, this point is directly related to the last point that you did not understand from me. I have a wife and a daughter whom I love very much. My child gets up between 8 and 8:30 in the morning and goes to bed at 7 pm. If I want to fulfill my required working hours, I leave the house before my child gets up. If I have an appointment in the office from 5 to 6 pm and I have to drive home afterward, then I see my child exactly zero minutes that day.

If I have an appointment working from home from 5 to 6 pm, I take a break from 3 to 5 pm, pick up my little one from daycare, spend time with her, and then continue working.

For some people here, it may be normal to spend little or no time with their children, but it is not for me. I have consciously decided to have a family and want to spend time with them. If there were no working from home here, I would have quit the job about two years ago and would have taken an administrative position here in town.

Everything has its advantages and disadvantages. Since 2003 (!) I have had the possibility to work from home. Back then still with a modem and telephone receiver. That felt somewhat lonely! Meanwhile with Teams, etc., many things are possible, the basic requirement is a fast internet connection. If I want to work out a legal opinion in peace, I go to HO, if I want to discuss something conclusively (!) whether with colleagues or the companies I support, the meetings take place in person. You want to look each other in the face when it gets expensive. An advantage of working on site (I am an external with an office at the companies) are possibly short distances (if the counterpart is also on site) for information, canteen, more exchange with other people, so rather the human component. My employer leaves it completely up to me when and where I work. The amount of work and the time available are fixed! And oh wonder... we are about 130 people who work like this and it works wonderfully. The employer has to overcome their mistrust... You find deadbeats both on site and in HO! A good supervisor should know how to assess that.

There are these reservations on the part of management just as there are employees who cannot organize themselves alone, become isolated, or are cut off in [HO] (especially the already "quieter" types). All of this can be overcome, but it is not something to be forced. Corona with the [HO]-requirement was the forceful approach. That companies do not just continue as before after the expiration of the regulations that enforced [HO] also has legal aspects -> [betriebliche Übung].

I believe Corona has shown that much is possible. Many reservations were broken through. Nevertheless, I think it is not wrong to take a step back again (not turning the clock completely back!), in order to approach it again with sense and understanding.