Remote Working Increasingly Common In Irish Businesses

The way that working is changing in the modern work environment, with more people either taking an interest in the prospect of, or actually engaging in, remote working. For many workers, the idea of remote working often remains just an idea. Indeed, in a recent article on the OPInfo Blog, we reported that research from Ricoh Ireland suggested that only 37% of Irish workers were able to work remotely.

This is despite a surge in interest from Irish workers in the possibility of remote working, with many actively seeking out jobs that allow this. Job site Indeed reported in late 2017 that searches for ‘remote/work from home’ had increased by 171% from Irish job seekers.

Remote working is seen as particularly desirable by employees who may feel stifled by a static office location, or by those who have a long commute to the workplace due to living far from their primary workplace. It can also result in higher levels of productivity, which businesses would understandably be eager to encourage.

Research from the Canada Life Group found that those who worked from home felt they were more productive, rating their productivity 7.7 out of ten when compared with 6.5 given by workers in open plan offices.

Irish Businesses More Open To Remote Working

According to new market research from the Irish cloud communications company, Blueface, Irish businesses have reported that remote working is slowly becoming more popular. The new research found that around 78% of surveyed businesses reported having a remote working policy in place.

This means that employees are allowed to achieve much greater flexibility with their working, as suggested earlier it can be a benefit to businesses by allowing lost time to be significantly reduced. The research also suggested that if the pace of Irish remote-working policies continues, then it could be expected that remote-working will rival fixed office locations for popularity as soon as 2025.

The interest from employees for the ability to work remotely is understandably causing businesses to re-evaluate their policies in attempts to increase both productivity and happiness levels. It could explain the increasing number of businesses who allow their employees to ‘Bring Your Own Device’, with 69% surveyed stating that they allowed this.

It is worth noting however that 31% forbid BYOD, with the reasons for this ranging from device standardisation to data protection, though this could mean that businesses are supplying devices to employees.

While it is important for Irish businesses to consider implementing these policies, it is also important to remember that employees must be allowed choice. Just as there are people who wish to work from home, there are likely to be people who want to work from an office as well.