While some companies now have hybrid-first work policies, others are attempting to mandate a full return to the office. But with flexible working now a deal-breaker for many job candidates, how are employers navigating an evolving environment in a historically tight labour market?
Only last year Eurostat, the European Union statistics agency, found workers in the State to be the biggest adopters of remote working in the EU. It found that the proportion of employees here who said they sometimes or usually work from home jumped from 19 per cent in 2019, to 36 per cent last year, the biggest increase of any EU country.
But straws of change are on the wind, particularly from the United States, where return-to-workplace mandates are a hot topic.
“I think it’s fair to say that there is that greater emphasis on getting people back into the workplace,” says Mary Connaughton, director of the human resources professionals’ organisation CIPD Ireland.
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Over the past year employers have been evaluating the impact of hybrid working on performance, relationships and contribution and, as a result, “we have seen more companies saying they do need people to be back in the workplace,” she adds.
“What they are still not saying is that they want people back in the office full time, however, because that is where the issue is. When employers suddenly shift from a hybrid approach to a full-time approach, that is when they tend to get negative publicity because they are not giving people any flexibility.”
CIPD Ireland research in May found that 31 per cent of organisations in the State had mandated two days in the office, and 29 per cent three days. Only 14 per cent have no mandated days at all, with 11 per cent allowing a variable arrangement.
But it’s a topic which most employers are approaching gingerly, especially if they wish to remain an employer of choice in a tight labour market with record numbers in work.
“If you say a job is flexible, or that you are offering hybrid working, you will get people applying from further away than your traditional pool. That means that if you then require them to be in the office, you will run into difficulty,” says Connaughton.
“I think employees are accepting that some time on site will be needed and that they will probably have to be on site two or even three days a week, but you certainly would not get them back in for five days. Employers know they will lose applicants, and potentially employees, if they were to look for that, so they have to tread carefully.”
However, just because the US has seen a number of employers come out in favour of return-to-work mandates does not necessarily mean the same will happen here, says Connaughton.
“US companies in the USA are more vocal about looking to try and do this. You have more CEOs there who are willing to come out and issue a mandate like that,” she says, adding that companies based in the State are more risk averse.
The real shifts she sees in relation to hybrid working is not between multinationals and indigenous companies at all; it is between the public and private sectors. CIPD Ireland research finds that in nearly half of public sector organisations, 48 per cent of employees are mandated to be on site two days a week. In the private sector, 28 per cent are mandated to be on site for two days a week, with a greater proportion mandated to be on site for three and even four days a week.
“So you are more likely to find private sector organisations having people in for three and four days a week than public sector organisations,” she says.
However, in the private sector, employers of choice will continue to bend over backwards to attract and retain talent.
“We do a great deal to retain staff and make the company an attractive prospect for new employees,” says Chris Collins, country president Ireland at Schneider Electric, which employs around 400 people across its four sites in Ireland.
“As an employer we’re known for our commitment to diversity and inclusion. For example, the number of women we employ across our wider UK and Ireland operation is 20 per cent above the engineering and technology industry average. Globally, our recruitment policy is designed to ensure women represent 50 per cent of all new hires, 40 per cent of all frontline managers and 30 per cent of senior leaders by 2025.”
Schneider Electric’s family benefits scheme is designed to attract and retain a more diverse workforce too. Its 26-week fully paid maternity leave and four-week paternity leave are above statutory rules and industry standards, marking the scheme out as one of the most generous and competitive in the engineering and technology space.
And the company follows a similar vein when it comes to ways of working, says Collins: “We’re a progressive company that appreciates working patterns have changed. That’s why we have implemented a flexible and hybrid working policy designed to suit people’s specific roles. It allows people to work remotely but we also ask people to spend a minimum of two days working in the office. However, the scheme doesn’t prevent employees from working in the office full-time if they prefer or need to.”
Its workforce is made up of a mixture of office and field-based staff, so it has never been necessary for everyone to always be in the office.
“Our hybrid model recognises the need for more flexibility while also strongly valuing face-to-face connections to drive innovation,” says Collins.
“That’s why it’s important to find the right balance that suits each individual team. For anyone that requires further flexibility, we encourage them to speak with their line manager to find a solution that works for both parties.”
