A recent CIPD Remote Working Survey took the views of CEOs, HR and executives with people management responsibilities at over 250 Irish businesses. The expectations of employees around remote working in particular have changed profoundly during the course of the pandemic. Some of the key findings include:
- 34% of workers in Ireland will return to the office fulltime once COVID-19 restrictions are fully lifted
- 22% of employees expect to work remotely fulltime
- 44% will split their working week between the home and the office with over 90% of these hybrid workers spending three days or less in the office
- 92% of employers expect work practices to alter post-pandemic with designing ‘equitable hybrid workspaces’ becoming a priority for human resource executives.
- Two thirds of the workforce therefore expect a fundamental change to their work practices once the COVID-19 restrictions ease.
This shift represents a huge challenge for the HR profession and will influence all areas from performance management to
recruitment and retention. The report predicts that remote working will be a huge determining factor in the war for talent as employers seek to offer attractive working conditions to secure the services of the best employees.
Leave for Parents due to Pandemic caring duties
A study carried out by CIPD Ireland in conjunction with the Kemmy Business School at the University of Limerick revealed that 63% of businesses have seen either a ‘significant’ or ‘small’ increase in female workers taking leave during the pandemic to fulfil caring duties.
The study reveals how the disruption caused by the pandemic has forced a large cohort of working parents into using leave to manage caring responsibilities.
Some of the most notable findings of the study include:
- 40% of businesses reported a ‘small’ increase in men taking leave to meet caring responsibilities
- almost half of the 400 people surveyed feel childcare or caring responsibilities would affect career advancement
- 79% said childcare or caring duties caused problems for remote workers
- over 50% of organisations said supervisors and managers have redistributed work among staff to facilitate caring issues in the workforce.
The survey reveals the concerns employees have about their ability to manage their work and family lives during the pandemic. Likewise, organisations and HR professionals in particular will need to adjust their HR policies to include the concerns of this important cohort of the workforce.
