Most Irish employees want to retain option to work from home

Over 80% of Irish employees want to continue to spend at least part of their week working from home when normal life resumes after the coronavirus pandemic, a survey found on Monday.
Like much of Europe, most Irish workers were forced to work from home when the economy went into lockdown in March and the government’s advice remains for people to do so where they can as it prepares to lift the last of the restrictions.
When asked what their ideal working arrangement would be when normal life resumes, the highest preference – 24% – was to work 2-3 days a week from home, according to the AIB/Amarach Research survey of over 1,000 adults carried out over the last four weeks.
Another 20% said they would like to work 1-2 days a week at home and the rest in the office, with the same level expressing a preference to work 3-4 days a week from home and 14% saying they would go to the office during the week only if needed.
That left just 15% preferring to go back to the office the way it was before.
Ireland’s new government has pledged to bring in measures to permanently increase remote working – including potential tax incentives – in a bid to promote better work life balance, higher female participation, greater regional balance and address climate change via less commuting.

Reuters