Deep into the Covid-19 lockdown, at the end of April and into May 2020, we conducted a survey with a view to better understand the journey Irish organisations have been on. We also wanted to find out more about how workers in Ireland have been adjusting to the new world of remote working. ActionPoint surveyed over 2,000 workers from a vast range of industries and company sizes, with workers holding positions of varying degrees of responsibility within their companies, and delivered our findings in our Remote Working Report.
It turns out that workers are adjusting quite well. 86.21% of workers want to continue working from home at least one day per week. 68% of respondents would like to work at least 2 days per week from home, if given the choice. This figure falls to 13.79% for people that want to work at least four days per week with only 8.62% of respondents eager to continue working from home full time.
These figures suggest that the preference for Irish workers is to partake in a hybrid workplace. Within the report, some of the key benefits of remote working were highlighted. The time saved on commute, flexible schedule and spending more time with family were some of the most cherished benefits. However, it was clear that workers missed the social interaction and comradery of the office. With a hybrid remote working strategy, workers retain the benefits of remote working (at least one day per week), whilst also keeping the human interaction that is so craved.
Remote Working – How many days per week respondent would like to work from home going forward
Q: If you had the choice, how many days per week would you choose to work from home after the crisis has ended? Survey results above.
Providing Your Team with a Hybrid Workplace
Hybrid Workplace
The findings in this report mirror the findings of a survey conducted by the Whitaker Institute at NUI Galway and the Western Development Commission (WDC). Within that survey, some 83% of the 7,241 respondents want to continue to work from home at least some of the time. In another recent survey by Dublin Tech Talks of 3,500 technology professionals in Ireland, 90% said they did not intend to return to working from the office full-time after the pandemic. All of these results raise the question – “What is the future of the workplace in Ireland?”
When remote working was forced upon us in March, many companies did not have a remote working policy in place and had to adapt quickly. For many, the system in place worked in the short term but in the long run, more robust policies are needed. If workers want to work remotely on a permanent basis, there are still a lot of unanswered questions. What security policies must be put in place? Do all staff have a proper home setup? How do we maintain strong levels of teamwork and collaboration when members are working apart? What level of communication is expected throughout the day and what schedules should be adhered to? If the future is hybrid, then these questions, and more, need to be addressed.
Download the Report for Free
To find out more about how Irish workers are adapting to remote working, check out The Covid-19 Remote Working Report from ActionPoint. Click here to download.
