Largest ever employee survey reveals huge appetite for remote working

Ireland’s largest ever employee opinion survey on the issue of remote working has revealed a huge appetite for working from home, with most respondents favouring a hybrid model where they blend time worked remotely and in the workplace.

The study, conducted by Amarách Research for Fórsa trade union over five days in July, found that 86% of respondents were interested in working remotely. Over 80% of those who favour home working expressed a preference for a hybrid arrangement.

Over 4,300 workers completed the survey. Although most were civil and public servants, Fórsa says its findings broadly mirror similar research, conducted by the Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation (DBEI) last year, in which the majority of respondents were from the private sector.

Seven in ten of those who had worked at home during the Covid-19 crisis said remote working had been a positive or very positive experience. But this figure fell to 66% for workers aged under 30, suggesting that younger workers face particular challenges in home working.

Seven in ten of those who had worked at home during the Covid-19 crisis said remote working had been a positive or very positive experience. But this figure fell to 66% for workers aged under 30, suggesting that younger workers face particular challenges in home working.

At 67%, there was a lower-than-average – though still significant – preference for remote working among staff who worked from their employer’s premises throughout the emergency.

Reduced exposure to Covid-19 was the most frequently-cited (81%) positive factor associated with home working during the pandemic, followed by improved work-life balance (70%), reduced commuting time (67%), and increased work flexibility (55%).

Half the respondents said home working had improved their productivity, while 45% of those with school-aged children said it had made it easier to manage childcare when schools and crèches closed during the pandemic.

Concerns about home working related to four broad areas: Disconnection from the workplace; work encroachment on home life; costs and the appropriateness of home work space; and health and safety issues. Again, these broadly mirrored the concerns that surfaced in the 2019 DBEI survey.

The biggest single negative aspect of home working, cited by 69% of respondents, was the lack of interaction with colleagues. Almost half said they found it harder to find out what was happening at work, and a quarter said management communicated poorly during the pandemic.

The second most frequently cited disadvantage (51%) was difficulty in separating work from home life, while almost half (48%) said that they incurred costs that would not arise if they were in the workplace.

Worryingly, just 28% of those who worked remotely said a manager had asked them about their home working set-up from a health and safety perspective. The union has now called for the Health and Safety Authority (HSA) to draw up specific employer and employee guidelines on remote working, including mental health risks.

In its submission to a Government consultation on remote working, which was delivered last week, Fórsa said: “The HSA and social partners should explore the challenges of risk assessment in the context of remote working to seek solutions that will protect the health and safety of workers without impeding the expansion of home working.”

The HSA and social partners should explore the challenges of risk assessment in the context of remote working to seek solutions that will protect the health and safety of workers without impeding the expansion of home working.

The union says health and safety concerns include the potential impact of loneliness and isolation on mental health, working time issues, potential physical impacts arising from inadequate workstations, and conditions arising from eyestrain.

Fair access to remote working also emerged as a major concern for Fórsa members. When asked to rank future priorities for the union, this was cited by the largest number (70%) of respondents, with over a third (36%) ranking it as their top priority.

Fórsa’s submission to the State’s public consultation makes 20 recommendations. It calls on the Government to open a dialogue – with unions and employers – aimed at strengthening the legal framework around remote working, including the possibility of a legal right for employees to seek remote working and other flexible working arrangements.

And it says official guidance should require employers to set objective criteria for determining the tasks and staff selected for home working arrangements. The union adds that remote working is not sustainable for all workers, and says employees should have the right to refuse home working without having to give their reasons.

It insists that those working remotely should benefit from the same rights, guaranteed by legislation and collective agreements, as comparable staff at their employer’s premises. And it calls for strong safeguards with regard to surveillance, privacy, data protection and cyber-security.

The union’s submission notes that additional household costs accrue from home working, and that these are likely to rise in the winter months. “This was not addressed in temporary arrangements introduced during the Covid-19 emergency, but a different approach is required for long-term arrangements where employees are based at home for significant periods of work time,” it said.

The experience of remote working during the Covid-19 emergency has demonstrated that many roles can be carried out remotely in ways that are productive, cost-effective and attractive to employers and their staff.

Fórsa’s head of communications Bernard Harbor said strong employer support for remote working had also been identified in earlier studies, including in research conducted by the DBEI last year.

“The experience of remote working during the Covid-19 emergency has demonstrated that many roles can be carried out remotely in ways that are productive, cost-effective and attractive to employers and their staff. Workers value the flexibility that remote working can bring, while managers cite access to talent, improved productivity and cost savings as benefits. Enhanced remote working also has huge potential to boost climate action and regional development.

“The need to address barriers to increased remote working, including the lack of a clear legislative framework and awareness of supports, has become more pressing. Legal rights to request access to remote working and other forms of flexible work are stronger in a range of comparable countries, and working people also deserve protections to ensure that new arrangements don’t undermine their incomes and working conditions,” he said.

Read Fórsa’s submission to a Government consultation on remote working HERE.

Read Fórsa’s remote working guide HERE.

 

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