Figure of the month: 6

It has been six years since the world of work was turned upside down overnight. In March 2020, lockdowns forced millions of employees into home office. What remains of this upheaval?

A new IHS study provides answers by analyzing eleven million online job advertisements in Germany between 2017 and 2024. The central finding: most shifts in job profiles vanished within three years. However, one key exception emerges in jobs with high remote work feasibility. In these jobs, demand for interactive skills—specifically communication, coordination, and collaboration—has seen a permanent increase. While other requirements reverted to pre-crisis levels once the acute phase faded, social skills remain in high demand. In a hybrid work environment, these interactive skills have become indispensable and determine how effective teams function across distances.

These shifts are particularly pronounced in sectors with robust communication infrastructure and in business-related services, underscoring a structural adaptation in how work is organized. Therefore, the pandemic did not necessarily accelerate digitalization across the board, but shifted it in a new direction. In Austria, too, 17 percent of vacancies now offer remote work options. Furthermore, the Teleworking Act (Telearbeitsgesetz) has been in effect since January 2025. Six years after the first lockdown, it has become clear: some changes are here to stay.

Eduard Storm
IHS Researcher
Skill Demand during Structural Change

You want to receive our monthly news via mail?
Subscribe to our newsletter 

Back