Employees want to blend their hours between home and the workplace

Over 80% of those surveyed preferred a blended work arrangement. File image.

Blending time worked remotely and in the workplace is what most employees want, it has emerged.

The study conducted over five days last month for Fórsa trade union is one of the largest ever with 4,300 workers taking part.

Over 80% who favoured home working want a “hybrid” arrangement - being able to divide work time between home and the workplace.

The trade union says it seems that the idea of people working at home permanently should be “a rarity”.

Most of those who took part in the survey are civil and public servants but Fórsa believes those working in the private sector hold similar views on remote working.

The Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation conducted similar research last year with people who mostly worked in the private sector.

Many public servants work remotely because of the public health restrictions to contain the spread of Covid-19 and on the instructions of their managers.

Until now, the public service generally lagged behind the private sector in terms of remote working.

The Fórsa survey found that 86% of workers would be interested in working remotely from home, with two-thirds (67%) saying they would “very definitely” be interested in home working.

Seven in ten of those who had worked from home during the Covid-19 crisis found remote working to be a positive or very positive experience. 

The biggest negative impact of home working is the lack of interaction with colleagues. 

Lack of interaction with colleagues and poor access to wifi among reasons for negative home-working experience 

However, home-working is not as popular among workers aged under 30, with two-thirds having a positive or very positive experience, suggesting that their home set-up may be more challenging.

Eight out of ten (81%) preferred to work from home because it reduces exposure to Covid-19.

The biggest negative impact of home working is the lack of interaction with colleagues. 

Just over a quarter (28%) of workers surveyed said a manager has asked them about their home working set-up from a health and safety perspective.

One third said their employer has not provided the necessary equipment and a significant minority (12%) have no access to essential technology like broadband.

The Health and Safety Authority (HSA) has no specific ongoing guidance on remote working and treats remote workers as lone workers for health and safety purposes and Fórsa says this approach is inadequate.

Fórsa's head of communications, Bernard Harbor, says the need to address barriers to increased remote working has become more pressing.