Remote working has caused 'development dip' in young professionals, Irish business leaders say

Some 29% of leaders say working closely with experienced team members is the best way for young people to catch up and build soft skills

The overwhelming majority (96%) of Irish business leaders believe young people have been hit by a “development dip” as a result of working from home during the pandemic.

That’s according to new research from LinkedIn, which reveals business leaders are concerned young people have missed out on key development opportunities at work during the course of the past 18 months.

The study, which surveyed more than 100 C-level executives in Ireland, found almost a third of executives believe young employees have missed out on learning by “osmosis” from being around more experienced colleagues and developing essential “soft skills”. 

A fifth believe young people have missed out on building professional networks, while four in 10 leaders believe young people’s ability to build meaningful relationships with their colleagues has been affected by remote working.

Some 29% of leaders say working closely with experienced team members is the best way for young people to catch up and build soft skills.

Out of practice

A complementary survey of more than 1,000 workers aged 16 to 34 in Ireland found three out of four believe their own professional learning experience has been impacted by the pandemic.

Just over a third said they believed their ability to make conversation at work had suffered, while 73% say they had forgotten “how to conduct themselves” in an office environment.

73% of young employees say they’ve forgotten 'how to conduct themselves' in an office environment.

Almost a third said they felt “out of practice” when it came to delivering presentations while a fifth said the same about speaking to customers or clients.

Sharon McCooey, head of LinkedIn Ireland, said the past 18 months had “revolutionised” how most companies in Ireland work.

“While many professionals are thriving, it has thrown up challenges for some people at the start of their careers.

“There are young people who have never stepped in their office or physically met their colleagues.” 

In some cases, this may have stunted their development if their employer was not able to cater for their needs, she said.

“It’s now important to recognise the disproportionate impact the pandemic has had on young people and ensure businesses have the supports in place for them to develop the skills they need to succeed in a new hybrid environment.” 

The research also found that four in 10 Irish businesses plan to move to a hybrid working environment, where some time is spent in the office and the rest spent working from home.

The majority (81%) of business leaders said they planned to introduce training courses to help employees adapt to new ways of working, with three-quarters planning to increase budgets for employee social events to encourage relationship building.