AN IRISH SURVEY will assess how remote working is impacting people’s career choices in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Researchers from NUI Galway’s Whitaker Institute and the government’s Western Development Commission are studying employees’ experiences of remote working since the removal of public health restrictions.

It’s the third annual survey on remote working since the pandemic began and the first since many remote workers were able to return in-person.

The survey asks respondents whether their working style has changed since the pandemic.

Remote workers are asked whether it has improved their work-life balance, productivity, and stress levels, and to what extent in affects their career options, opportunities for promotion, and engagement with colleagues.

It looks at how remote work is affecting career decisions like choice of employer and whether to relocate somewhere in Ireland or abroad.

Last year, 32% of 6,442 respondents said they would like to work remotely on a daily basis.

Slightly more than half (53%) indicated they would like to work remotely several times a week while 10% would prefer several times a month.

Only 5% did not want to work remotely.

Concerns about returning to in-person work included readjusting to office life, maintaining social distancing rules, and commuting.

The 2022 survey, which is anonymous, is now open online for responses.

NUI Galway Professor Alma McCarthy said that the findings of the 2020 and 2021 surveys “have impacted policy including the national remote working strategy”.

“The way we work has changed dramatically since the Covid-19 pandemic,” Professor McCarthy said.

“It is timely to capture the trends, preferences and career choice impacts two years on.”

CEO of the Western Development Commission Tomás Ó Síocháin said that “breaking the link between work and location has been transformative”.

“While challenges remain in ensuring equality of opportunity for all regardless of location, this survey is really important to inform the decision making about balanced future development in our country and helping the transition to a low carbon economy,” he said.