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27th Jan 2022

Over half of Irish workers found no change in productivity while working from home

Hugh Carr

no change in productivity work from home

Demand for remote work continues to skyrocket.

Over 50% of Irish workers said that they found no change to their productivity while working from home during the pandemic.

The data comes from a survey published by employment website Indeed on Thursday (27 January).

Irish job postings on the website allowing remote work in December 2021 were six times higher than levels before restrictions were introduced.

Postings for entirely remote roles are currently four times higher than pre-pandemic levels as well.

In a separate survey posted by Indeed, respondents were asked how their working life has changed due to the pandemic.

51.4% of respondents said that they found no change in their productivity since pre-pandemic levels, and 63.3% of co-worker relationships have remained the same.

Jack Kennedy, Economist at Indeed, said that the popularity of remote working in Ireland will raise important long-term questions.

“First, real thought needs to be given to welcoming new employees and spreading corporate culture in a hybrid environment where some staff are in the office and some at home,” Kennedy said.

“Secondly, management and leadership style will need to evolve to best transmit knowledge and motivate teams.

“Finally we must accept that whilst increasing employee flexibility was a trend pre-Covid, the process has been massively accelerated, and on this steep learning curve it is likely that there will be teething problems along the way with company policies needing to adapt and evolve.”

In a survey published by the Central Statistics Office last week, 88% of respondents said that they would like to continue to work remotely even while restrictions have fully lifted.

Of the 88% who said they would like the option to work from home, three in 10 respondents said they would do like to do it full time.

75% of respondents who had home duties and 69% of those unable to work due to health problems would consider employment if they could work remotely.

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