The second annual national remote work survey has found a massive 95 per cent of respondents favour working remotely into the future. Summary data of the survey, carried out by the Whitaker Institute at NUI Galway and the Western Development Commission, were published this week.
The survey gathered responses from more than 6,400 employees, exploring their experience of remote work one year after lockdown.
Led by Professor Alma McCarthy and Noreen O’Connor at NUI Galway, and Tomás Ó Síocháin and Deirdre Frost at the Western Development Commission, the survey found that, among those who could work remotely, 95 per cent were in favour of continuing to do so to some extent. Of those, 53 per cent said they would like to work remotely several times a week, 32 per cent said they would like to work fully remotely, and 10 per cent several times a month.
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The number of people who would like to work fully remotely (32 per cent ) has increased substantially from the first national survey conducted in April 2020, when 12 per cent indicated this preference in the immediate aftermath of the first lockdown.
The overwhelming majority of 95 per cent in this survey is a significant increase from the 83 per cent who wanted to continue to work remotely for some or all of the time in the 2020 survey. Conversely, only five per cent indicated that they did not wish to work remotely to any extent – a drop from the 16 per cent who gave that response a year ago.
The number of respondents working fully remotely fell from 87 per cent in April 2020 to 75 per cent at the end of April 2021, as there was more of a mix of onsite and remote (20 per cent ) in the latest survey.
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The survey found that 24 per cent of respondents said they would consider relocating based on their experience of remote working since Covid-19. A further nine per cent said they had already moved, with the west (Galway, Mayo, Roscommon ), the southwest (Cork and Kerry ), and the border (Cavan, Donegal, Leitrim, Monaghan, and Sligo ) the top regions respondents have relocated to. A further 14 per cent said they may consider moving, while just over half (53 per cent ) said they would not consider relocating.
According to the survey the top three advantages of working remotely are greater flexibility, makes life easier, and increased productivity. In terms of work-life balance, 51 per cent of respondents said that they work more hours when they work remotely compared to working onsite, while 45 per cent say they work the same hours.
This year’s survey also saw more than 2,100 managers give their views on managing teams remotely and their plans for remote work post pandemic.
Of the team managers who responded, 44 per cent believe that remote working positively impacts the productivity of their team, while the same proportion (44 per cent ) believe that remote working makes no difference to the team’s productivity. A total of 12 per cent believe remote working negatively impacts their team’s productivity.
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Three-quarters of organisations had not decided how their teams will work post pandemic. Of the 25 per cent which had decided, 78 per cent will work to a hybrid model. Thirty six per cent of organisations which have decided to work to a hybrid model expect employees to be onsite for two days a week, and 23 per cent said three days a week.
The study found that 45 per cent of team managers believed they did not get the training required to manage their team remotely, while 36 per cent indicated they received basic training. One in five (19 per cent ) reported that they received sufficient training.
Interesting
“The second annual NUI Galway/Western Development Commission national remote working survey has, once again, gained huge interest with over 6,400 responses,” said Professor Alma McCarthy, head of the JE Cairnes School of Business and Economics at NUI Galway. “We added a new module asking questions about managing teams remotely for those who have people management responsibilities. To our knowledge, the latter forms the first national survey to gather information about team manager perspectives. It is interesting to see that the appetite for fully remote or hybrid working is the preference of the vast majority of respondents.”
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Tomás Ó Síocháin, CEO of the Western Development Commission, added: “The findings of the national survey indicate once again that there is a clear appetite to continue to work remotely. This will mean significant change for the way in which people work and the way that organisations support that work. The rollout of the National Hubs Network of more than 400 hubs will offer a suitable workplace close to home. A key challenge for leaders in organisations will be ensuring that people that choose to work remotely are treated equally in terms of development and promotional opportunities.”
The research team has expedited the analysis of initial summary findings of the second annual national remote working survey, which are available on both NUI Galway’s Whitaker Institute and the Western Development Commission websites, along with reports and findings of the first survey. Further publications will also be made available.
The survey report and accompanying infographic information can be viewed on the Whitaker Institute’s project page at whitakerinstitute.ie/project/remote-working-during-covid-19-irelands-national-survey
