Irish firms' desire to get workers back in the office could delay gender equality by a generation

While hybrid work has shattered the traditional 9-to-5 paradigm, taking this away now may result in the biggest female brain drain we have seen from the workplace, writes Karen O'Reilly

It’s not possible to helicopter women in at senior level to assuage gender quotas, if they simply are not there. If companies are serious about gender equality, they need to offer flexible work. Picture: iStock

Four years on from the greatest remote work experiment we were all catapulted into thanks to a global pandemic, and we are still re-adjusting to post-covid idiosyncrasies in the workplace and attempting to find that sweet spot where employees, in a tight labour market, and employers can live in productive harmony. 

For many, working for traditionally inflexible employers, the opportunity to work remotely post-covid in a hybrid scenario was a revelation. Now, one could skip the mind-numbing commute, be more productive (statistically proven) and have a better work-life balance.