Open Access

Celine Eble

• The COVID-19 pandemic has caused considerable developments in the business environment, especially in terms of work from home, which are likely to play a role in the future. Since employee motivation is a decisive factor for the profitability of a company, it is important to take appropriate measures to maintain and increase it in times of work from home. The aim of this work is to identify the factors influencing employee motivation during work from home, to derive possible explanations as to why these factors influence motivation, and to derive proposed solutions for managers in order to be able to ensure optimal employee motivation. The following research question is to be answered: “To what extent does work from home influence the work motivation of employees in Germany?”. For this purpose, a quantitative online survey was conducted. Based on the literature review and survey results, the finding is that sufficient and functioning work equipment, social interaction with colleagues, an undisturbed work environment, and flexible working hours help to maintain motivation whereas independence as well as tangible benefits can increase motivation when working from home. However, motivation is a highly subjective matter, which can have different causes and characteristics for each individual, so the impact of work from home on work motivation cannot be generalized in principle.