Work

As Irish workers begin to return to the office, much remains uncertain

Most workers have yet to hear whether they will work in the office, from home, or both

Many workers were set to return to their offices on Monday. Photograph: Tom Honan/The Irish Times

Tue Sep 21 2021 - 05:19

As Ireland’s office class tiptoes its way back into the office, there appears to be great uncertainty despite the many months that companies have had to prepare for the event.

Almost two-thirds of employers have yet to tell staff whether they will have to commute to the office regularly again or whether they will be able to operate primarily from home, according to a survey published to coincide with the first day of the Government-sanctioned staggered return to the office.

Among those who have been told about the nature of their future set-ups, there is evidence of a fundamental change in the nature of their workplaces. Thirty-five per cent have been told they will be office-based but an identical number have been advised that they will operate a hybrid system, co-locating between the office and their home. And three in 10 will work from a remote base entirely.

But the survey of 1,500 employees by tax adviser Taxback.com also indicates that workers might not be as pushed about working from home as has generally been imagined. It found that just more than one in 10 people had actually approached their employer about the possibility of home-working remaining a feature of their employment for the future.

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A further 22 per cent said they intended to do so but had not done so yet, but more than two-thirds said they had no intention of doing so.

That points to general satisfaction or acceptance by two-thirds of respondents that they will work primarily from the office as soon as their employer opens the doors.

When that will happen is as yet unclear for many. Close to four in 10 had already returned to the office. However, a further quarter have been told that they will be coming back at some point in the next six months, but 36 per cent say they have not yet been told when they should expect a return to their desks.

It all points to a lot of confusion as companies and their employees come to terms with the impact of the past 18 months of Covid-19 restrictions and the realisation, maybe, that more can be done remotely without adversely affecting productivity than either side might have imagined. The world of work has changed: we’re just not sure yet by how much.

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