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PARTICIPANTS ARE BEING sought for the latest edition of the national remote working in Ireland survey, which launches today.
Led by researchers from the Whitaker Institute at NUI Galway and the Western Development Commission, the survey will gather data on people’s attitudes to remote working and working from home over a year into the pandemic.
It’ll also ask what people’s preferences are post-pandemic – whether they would they like to return to the office, work remotely, or a blend of the two.
This will be the third survey carried out by the team since the large-scale move to remote working in March 2020. The two surveys commissioned last year received 12,000 responses from employees across the country.
Previous surveys have shown that as many as 94% of people who are now remote working want it to continue in some form when the pandemic is over. This includes just over half of these workers who want the option of working remotely a few days a week in future, when asked in October.
As well as asking people for their opinion on these matters again, this round of the survey will also ask managers of their experience of leading and supervising their teams remotely.
It will also look at how managers are planning for the post-pandemic world of work.
The research team expect to publish their findings in early May, and include recommendations for employers on how to manage remote working in the current crisis and into the future.
The survey is led by Professor Alma McCarthy and Noreen O’Connor at NUI Galway and Tomás Ó Síocháin and Deirdre Frost at the Western Development Commission.
Ó Siocháin said: “Much has been learned about the transition to remote work over the last year.
“This information helps to inform the decision making about balanced future development in our country, helping the transition to a low carbon economy and ultimately has the potential to transform the way we live and work.”
The survey can be accessed here.
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I’ll never go back to an office full time. What was I thinking spending 90 minutes stuck in city traffic one way in, working a full day, sometimes having to stay late, only to spend 90 minutes in traffic on the way back home.
It added unnecessary stress to my life that was deemed ‘normal’. I refuse to go back to that way of living.
@Madra: completely agree.. why sit in traffic when you can use that time to work at your desk at home and even go for a little run before work. Going for a run or sitting in your car for 1 hour 20 think I know what I’d chose.
@Madra: At least this pandemy at this merit, having time to think and reflect about things you put in the back in your mind otherwise.
Ideally I’d love 4 days from home and 1 in the office but i’d take 3 days at home and 2 in the office
As long as it doesn’t have leading questions to get the ‘people want to go back to the office’ view like some other reports and surveys ran around the place recently have gone with. It has to be remembered that this hasn’t been a ‘WFH Experiment’ experience it has been a ‘WFH during a Pandemic’ one. Previous surveys all seemed to focus on the social aspect of working in an office which people then latched onto as being ‘the thing they missed’ – without any survey factoring in that nobody can do anything social at the minute. It would be fantastic if the ‘experiment’ went on for six months once things opened up again and then the surveys were put out.
If I could maybe get blended where I’m doing WFH Friday’s and Monday’s and then in the office Tuesday to Thursday’s, like in my old job I’ll happily take that. I simply don’t have a permanent office or work area set up for WFH on a full-time basis, even now its a pain most days to get screens and connections for the laptop set up on the living room table every morning and then take it all away every evening to eat. Plus to be honest, I am sick to the back teeth of poxy zoom and video calls, the novelty was fine for a few months last year, but once we had to do any kind of team training etc, it’s not as effective as being able to ask questions in person…..but everyone will have a different story or opinion on WFH I guess
@Tarraing Mo Liathróidí: Why not set up a home office in your back garden?
@Locojoe: other than the garage, which is already full, there is nowhere practical without me spending a fair amount of money i don’t have to do it, and to be honest I miss seeing actual work mates in person and going to lunch with people instead of sitting on my own doing it via zoom
Cant wait to get back to the office! Big desk, multiple monitors, task chair, coffee, snacks on tap, free lunch, socializing.
@Z Exotic: Most of us have to pay for our lunches & snacks so it’s not that exciting to us.
Like a lot of things in life there are good bits and bad bits of WFH, for me, the good bits of WFH far outweigh the bad bits, by a considerable margin.
As a working mother with young kids I hope that I can wfh at least 60 percent of the time. Not having to pay for afterschool means I’m actually earning a wage, my kids are happier to be home after school, I can drop them and pick them up. When they are sick I’m not scrambling around trying to find someone to mind them or take off work using annual leave where my colleagues have to take on my work.
@Bleurgh: Not have a go at you personally, but isn’t this one of the issues with WFH from an employer perspective ? They are paying for time at the desk, not time spent babysitting, tending to sick kids, etc. I get that most people would be able to juggle the work and household stuff, but it’s bound to have an impact.
I did not have the option of working from home. But I’d welcome the opportunity to try a 4 day week.
have your say