Fórsa is undertaking some research about your experience of remote working. We want to hear about your experience of working at home during the Covid-19 emergency, and your thoughts about whether – and how – remote working should feature in our working lives in future.

More than a third of Ireland’s employees – including tens of thousands of civil and public servants – were working from home at the peak of the pandemic. Many still are, and it’s clear that this will continue for some time.

A recent survey found that only 12% of business leaders think all their staff will return to workplaces once Covid-19 restrictions are eased, with 40% predicting an equal mix of staff working in the office and remotely in future.

Home working has been good news for a lot of workers, with many Fórsa members establishing productive and rewarding remote routines. But it can be a struggle for others whose accommodation or personal circumstances don’t support this way of working.

And even those who favour home working may have concerns about issues like health and safety, the quality of employer communications and supervision, childcare issues, work-life balance, and maintaining a right to disconnect from work emails and calls.

Fórsa wants to preserve the benefits of remote working while ensuring that proper safeguards are in place to protect staff. The union also wants the criteria for determining who works at home to include an element of choice, and a recognition that some people are just unable to sustain remote working for long periods of time.

By participating in our short survey you’ll ensure that your views help shape the union’s approach to negotiations with employers – and our discussions with official bodies including the Government, which is currently consulting on the issue.

We are working with Amárach Research on this survey, but none of your personal or contact data has been shared with them or any external organisation. All responses will be treated in strict confidence. Nobody will see or share your personal response to the survey, and only aggregated findings will be reported.

Participate in the Fórsa remote working survey HERE.

Read Fórsa’s remote working guidelines HERE.

It’s never been more important – or more easy – to get the protections and benefits of union membership. Join Fórsa HERE or contact us HERE.