Flexibility, childcare, collaboration: The pros and cons of returning to the office

As employers begin clamping down on the amount of days their staff work from home, the work/life balance debate is seeping back into our conversations. Amanda Cassidy speaks to both sides about returning to the office

There’s no doubt that the idea that we could work and live from our homes during covid was an eye-opener

“I was on the fence about doing more days in the office,” admits 26-year-old Nicole Kelly, who works in tech sales for an American multinational company in Galway.

 “But in the last three weeks, I’ve started to see benefits. We had a really strong office culture pre-covid. There are employees from all over the world in my company, so a lot of them use the office as more than just a workplace, it’s a community where they can meet people and settle in.” 

Nicole started working for the company during the pandemic and was fully remote for the first eight months. 

“I’m a really social person,” she explains. “After a while, I found working eight hours a day from the house got a bit monotonous. You can get sick of the generic Zoom background and only interacting on Teams very quickly. There’s a lot to be said for those connections you make at the coffee machine in the office, or going for lunch with your colleagues. 

“One of the other big things is the separation of your own space. Work can easily bleed into your personal life when it’s based at your ‘domain’. For those renting with others who are also in the same boat, like I am, it can be difficult to set out designated areas to suit everyone. Some are often juggling working from home with others. 

“I remember at one stage, I was at home living with my parents during the pandemic and my dad was also working from home and my brother was studying from home. We were lucky that we had room to create separate spaces, but it was hard. 

At the end of the day, working from home isn’t always the dream it’s made out to be.” 

There’s no doubt that the idea that we could work and live from our homes during covid was an eye-opener. Suddenly we could put on a wash on our lunch break, take the dog for a walk between meetings, or be at home when the kids got in from school, even if we were up against it. Companies also adapted and invested in technology to accommodate this new way of life. It was a level of flexibility never seen before, and for many, especially parents, the flexibility remote work offered lent itself to family life.

“The savings on my childcare was just crazy,” admits Tracey Cunningham, an accountant and mum of two primary school children who pre-pandemic had been commuting into Dublin city each day. “Even just those extra hours I can be with them instead of trekking into town is huge.” 

Now her company has requested staff come into the office three days a week instead of the previous two. 

“For them, it’s just one more day, but for me, it’s left me questioning if I shouldn’t just stop working, or go work for myself because it’s difficult to find a minder for that extra day a week.” Tracey admits. 

“Plus, I was really enjoying the balance it brought to our family. I could be here upstairs if the kids had any questions about homework or if they wanted to share something about their way in a way that I’m not on office days. It’s hard to articulate, but I think we all got used to reclaiming our lives from the rat-race-run we’d been doing to ourselves for so long.” 

But fully remote, freelance copywriter Ann Casey missed the social element of work so much that she signed up to a communal workspace two days a week.

“A lot of my job is extremely collaborative, and I prefer working that way,” she tells us. 

“Being able to go into the office to organise meetings or just catch up about various projects, is really bond-building. You may not be best friends with all your colleagues, but at the end of the day, connections are connections. If you are working from the kitchen table all day long, it’s just pure work, but those micro-interactions you have with others in the office are often what make work enjoyable. 

“Plus, I’ve also enjoyed the odd office romance over the years, which can often lead to something more serious. There’s nothing more motivating than that to get you up to take the train in the dark sometimes!” she laughs.

Like it or not, we all knew the Great Callback was coming — the question of why is less straightforward. For companies, it revolves around productivity concerns, expensive office space going to waste, potential loss of company culture, loss of collaboration, and even some employee fatigue around isolation. 

Gary Mullan from Prosperity.ie says 2024 is a RTO (Return To Work) year

Despite the fact that hybrid working doesn’t suit every lifestyle, MD of Prosperity HR, Gary Mullan says the most important thing is that employers and staff are communicating.

“2024 is a RTO (return to work) year,” points out Mullan.

“In Ireland, the Work-Life Balance Act was signed into law in April 2023. It’s a first attempt at giving workers the right to request remote work. Employers have to respond to that request with a positive or negative answer, but that’s the extent of it. 

“In other words, it’s not mandated that employers should give that option to all workers that ask for it. There are certain specifications that employees have to fulfil for them to be granted that right.

“It will be interesting to see how companies react to the request for remote working conditions from employees going forward,” Mullan says. “But it’s unlikely that the law alone can move the needle of that momentous trend in Ireland. Employers should facilitate RTW in different ways,” suggests Mullan.

“Changing policies gradually, for example, so employees have more time to mentally adapt to the new reality. Employers should also offer good spaces, good equipment, tools, and flexibility with the ‘in and out’ hours. This way employees with long commutes can reduce their rush hour anxiety by coming in earlier or later.” 

 And if you just refuse point blank to go back into the office for more days?

“If an employee refuses to return to work following a request to do so it could technically give rise to disciplinary action and/or a termination of employment in certain circumstances”, depending on the contract,” explains associate solicitor Amy Connolly of Cantillon’s solicitors.

“But it would be important for both employer and employee to discuss the concerns and needs of both parties. This is a complex area, and rarely will there be a ‘one size fits all’ solution,” Connolly says. 

“It is a case of trying to strike the delicate balance of an employer’s business needs and requirements on one end, and an employee’s concerns and particular circumstances on the other.”