Remote and hybrid working reaches record high despite pushback from employers

The share of Irish job postings for remote or hybrid work rose to 17.5% at the end of December, over four times that recorded before the pandemic

Leading the way on a European level, Ireland’s workforce has transitioned to hybrid working at a greater rate than any other country in the EU.

The fight to return workers to the office seems to be far from over with new data published by jobs posting website Indeed showing the share of remote or hybrid jobs in Ireland has reached a record high.

The platform’s 2025 Irish Jobs and Hiring Trends Report shows the share of Irish postings mentioning remote or hybrid work rose to 17.5% at the end of December 2024, a level that is more than four times that recorded prior to the covid pandemic.

Research also found that around 2.6% of all searches for Irish job postings contained remote or hybrid keywords as of the end of December, similar to levels prevailing since 2022 and up around tenfold on pre-pandemic levels.

Leading the way on a European level, Ireland’s workforce transitioned to hybrid working at a greater rate than any other country in the European Union.

That is despite a series of high-profile return-to-office mandates across several large companies. 

In September last year, PwC said that staff in Ireland were expected to be “in the office or at a client site at least three days a week," following changes in the firm's UK business mandating its 26,000 employees to spend more time in the office.

Similarly, Amazon, which is one of the world's largest employers, also announced in September that it would require staff to return to the office five days a week starting in January 2025.

Latest census figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) report that the number of people working mainly from home increased by 173% between 2016 and 2022, from 94,955 workers to 259,467.

In addition, the CSO also said that nearly a third of Ireland’s workforce, or around 750,000 employees, worked from home at least one day a week.

Despite companies’ best efforts, return-to-office mandates from employers have been met with pushback from employees, with many of those who have become accustomed to flexible working conditions unwilling to forgo new-found benefits.

In a survey last year conducted by EmployFlex, results indicated that all things being equal, 92% of employees would move from their current role for more flexibility in another position.

However, as US President Donald Trump pushes to get federal workers back in the office, he may go further to also put pressure on US multinationals, which could have a knock-on effect on those companies with large Irish operations.

Speaking on its 2025 report, Indeed said the record level of remote and hybrid job postings suggests that offering job flexibility remains an important part of recruiting talent at a time when unemployment in Ireland remains well below 5%. 

This is especially the case in key high-demand professional and tech categories including media & communications, where the share of remote or hybrid job postings is 43%, insurance, also at 43% and software development at 41%.

The tight Irish labour market also continues to support robust wage growth, according to the Trends Report as jobseekers retain leverage when it comes to both pay and benefits.

Posted wage growth was 4.6% year-on-year in Ireland in December, having been running at 4% or above since the start of 2024. This is above the euro area average of 3.3%, Indeed added.

“Despite global uncertainty, the Irish labour market continues to be resilient and, for now at least, looks on course to remain so in 2025," said Jack Kennedy, senior economist at Indeed. 

"For jobseekers, that means they retain leverage when it comes to pay and benefits, as evidenced by robust wage growth and employers continuing to offer flexibility. 

"Both pay and benefits remain important from an employers’ perspective not only in attracting talent but also for retaining existing staff, who may be difficult to replace given the tightness of the market and long-standing skill shortages in certain occupations."