Multi-local living employees in Stuttgart and Milan. An analysis of their employer support for the spatial-temporal organisation of their living arrangements

Abstract

With work-related living in several places – also known asmulti-local living – on the rise due to flexible working andliving environments, employers are increasingly challengedto support multi-local living arrangements in order to recruitand retain qualified employees nationwide. This paperpresents the first results of an analysis conducted in the citiesof Stuttgart in Germany and Milan in Italy. With the help ofsemi-structured problem-oriented interviews with multi-localemployees in knowledge-based sectors, their requirementsand the benefits they currently receive from their employers insupport of their living arrangements are examined. The resultsshow, among other things, that in both cities certain types ofcompanies are more open to these living arrangements. However,few employers were found to have official policies fordealing with multi-locality. Furthermore, it is shown that differenttypes of multi-local employees require different support.The paper also discusses interactions between workrelatedmulti-locality and spatial development.

Using Participatory Visual Methods to Explore Multi-Local Living Arrangements - The Example of Work-Life Biographies and Reflexive Photography

“…As multi-locals, in their capacity as family members, parents or partners, are present and absent, their living arrangements affect not just themselves, but also their relatives (Schier et al, 2015), a shift to teleworking could ease the organisation of everyday life: multi-locals working from home can be more present, not spending too much time on traveling between residences. Some may give up their second residence (Garde, 2021). But it is still unclear whether multi-locality will start to decline, as it remains unclear how teleworking affects e.g., productivity and mental health (Reuschke & Felstead, 2020).…”

“…Both used participatory visual methods to explore multi-local living arrangements. The German city of Stuttgart in Baden-Wuerttemberg (Garde, 2021) and the rural district of Diepholz in Lower Saxony (Greinke, 2020) were selected as case studies. The aim was to explore the living and working arrangements of multi-local employees as well as the interactions between multi-locality, operational approaches and regional developments.…”

“…As a socially relevant phenomenon, multi-locality has developed into a standalone research field, namely “Residential Multi-locality Studies” (Wood, et al, 2015). Work-related multi-locality is linked to several other research disciplines, for example housing, household and family research (Hilti, 2009; Schier et al, 2015; Wood et al, 2015), migration and mobility research (Kilkey & Palegna-Möllenbeck, 2016; Nadler, 2014) and increasingly focused on in spatial sciences (Di Marino & Lapintie, 2018; Garde, 2021; Greinke, 2020; Othengrafen, et al, 2021; Plöger, 2020; Tippel, et al, 2017).…”

“…In the same vein, spatial conditions influence the decision to become or remain multi-local. Because of skills shortages in specific sectors such as information technology or engineering, employers in metropolitan regions but also in rural areas are increasingly being forced to recruit nationally or even internationally (Garde, 2021; Greinke, 2020; Plöger, 2020).…”

The Multi-locality of Students during COVID-19 and Its Effects on Spatial Development: A Quantitative Case Study of Leibniz University Hanover

“…As a "mass phenomenon" (Weichhart, 2015: 378), multi-locality has already been studied in numerous disciplines such as housing, household and family research (Hilti, 2009;Schier et al, 2015;Wood et al 2015), as well as migration and mobility research (Nadler, 2014;Kilkey, Palegna-Möllenbeck, 2016). It has also received increased attention in the spatial sciences (Tippel, Plöger, Becker, 2017;Di Marino, Lapintie, 2018;Greinke, 2020;Plöger, 2020;Garde, 2021;Othengrafen et al, 2021). Numerous studies conclude that multi-local lifestyles are represented in almost all age groups and social backgrounds (Hilti, 2013;ARL, 2016;Oberösterreichische Akademie, 2019).…”