Strong demand for remote working after restrictions are lifted

80% of people have worked remotely at some point since the start of the pandemic. Picture: iStock

Young people have expressed a strong preference for the continuation of remote working, even when Covid-19 restrictions are lifted.

According to a CSO survey, some 90% of 35-44 year-olds want the choice to continue working from home when restrictions end, while others stated they would move out of population-dense areas such as Dublin if the option for remote work remains.

The survey also showed more talent could enter the workforce, as 69% of respondents that are unable to work due to longstanding health problems would consider employment if it could be done remotely.

In addition, 93% of survey participants employed in Dublin commuter areas such as Kildare, Louth, Meath and Wicklow, who could work remotely, said they would like to continue doing so after the pandemic. Meanwhile, 59% of respondents in those commuter areas stated they would consider moving house if they could work remotely. However, respondents living in the South-West Region (Cork and Kerry) stated they would most likely remain in their own county.

"All the barriers that employers were putting up Pre-Covid are non-existent now," said the founder of flexible working consultancy Employflex Karen O'Reilly. She added that these issues included providing tech at home and trusting employees to work efficiently remotely.

Although many jobs can't be done remotely, O'Reilly said there is a clear appetite for more flexible working which most workplaces could introduce.

"This is what employees are asking for and if employers can't bring options to the table, employees will look elsewhere," she said.

In total, 80% of respondents in employment have worked remotely at some point since the start of the pandemic. Of those in employment who can work remotely, 88% would like to do so when all pandemic restrictions are removed. Of these, 28% said they would like to do so all the time, while 60% said they would like to work remotely some of the time. The remaining 12% stated they would not like to work remotely in the future.

Working from home has given more people time on their hands to strike a balance between work and personal life. Yet, the current level of working from home is seeing more of the housework fall on women in their spare time.

“The most popular activity undertaken by remote workers who felt they had extra time, as a result of working remotely, was domestic or household tasks. Nearly seven in 10 chose this activity as one of the things they do now with more women (73%) than men (66%) using some extra time for this,” said Statistician Dermot Kinane.

Remote working may not work for everyone though, especially those with poor internet access. Just 9% of respondents who rated their home broadband as excellent would not like to work remotely in the future. This figure rose to 15% for those who rated their home broadband as poor.