Two in five workers in no mind to return to the office, survey finds

A survey of Irish workers, by Esri Ireland, found that half of them felt that some form of remote working should be considered by their employer in the future.

At least two in five Irish workers are in no mind to return to an office after the Covid-19 pandemic ends, while half want at least some form of remote working in the future.

Those are some of the findings of a survey of more than 1,000 workers by Esri Ireland, which looked at concerns and considerations of the Irish public regarding where they live.

Some 43% said they would like to stay working remotely when the pandemic eases, while 51% said they would like to be able to work from home at least part-time.

The enthusiasm for remote working lends itself towards a desire for more rural living, with a tenth of those surveyed saying they would like to move to less urban settings.

The overriding factor for Irish workers and where they want to live focuses on cost, with more than three-quarters saying the renting or buying a property is the biggest.

Commuting is also a concern for 59% of workers, while the distance to shops was brought up by half of those surveyed.

Of those already living in rural locations, almost two in five believe that they have poor or very poor access to healthcare.

Just over a third said access to garda and emergency services is poor or very poor, while a similar number said access to libraries was just as poor.

The research also found the need for better communication and education around 5G, with 47% of adults in Ireland saying that they would be unhappy to have a 5G base station erected within 500 metres of their home.

The potential impact on their health is their main concern, the survey found.

Managing director of Esri Ireland, Paul Synnott, said: “With more people considering a move to a more permanent working-from-home set-up, this survey highlights areas where locals are not adequately served by essential services and amenities.

“Using location intelligence, city and county planners can better determine areas requiring additional public and private sector investment, to ensure a growing and more dispersed remote workforce has access to adequate supports and amenities."