The Covid-19 pandemic has brought about significant changes in the global working landscape, with a noticeable tilt towards remote working and, notably in Ireland, an increased workforce involvement. The proportion of European Union employees who, at least periodically, worked from home surged from 15% to 22% during 2019 to 2023; in comparison, Ireland’s figure ballooned from 22% in 2019 to 37% in 2023. This reflects an accelerated transition towards more malleable working environments.
The discrepancy in percentages of home workers could potentially indicate a higher ratio of office jobs in Ireland compared to other locations, an assumption supported by the robust growth in the IT and professional services sectors since 2019. Nations with diverse sectoral compositions, characterised by a dominance of agriculture, manufacturing or hospitality, tend to require a higher presence of their workforce on site.
The enhanced flexibilities in working arrangements are posited to boost workforce involvement, particularly among parents of younger children. There has been a noted post-pandemic increase in employment among Irish women, most profoundly among those aged 25-34. This demographic shift has correspondingly stimulated economic expansion.
Across the wider European landscape, the ability to work from home has seemingly had a more constrained influence on female employment engagement.
The emerging question is how shorter working hours might balance out the benefits of larger workforce engagement under flexible work models. When it comes to reporting a reduction in work hours post-pandemic, Irish statistics indicate interesting disparities based on the data source – employer or household. Both report a decrease, but household reports indicate a more substantial reduction. This could be due to shifting perceptions of work hours, with some households experiencing a shortened workday due to the elimination of commuting time.
The increased malleability in work schedules has been unequivocally embraced by employees and, in some instances, has resulted in decreased office-related expenditure for employers. While there are no apparent immediate impacts on productivity, the implications over the long term are harder to ascertain as of now.
Many professions reliant on office environments necessitate collaborative teamwork. This in-person interaction is crucial in fostering innovation and new ideas. Video conferencing tools such as Zoom and Teams are widely utilised for virtual meetings and joint online work; however, direct interaction usually allows for a more unimpeded exchange of thoughts and fruitful discussions compared to remote communication.
The lack of opportunities for casual conversations online may lead to unresolved issues as the chat feature in meeting platforms like Zoom could hardly mimic genuine interpersonal interactions. It could be more challenging for newcomers to adjust when physical interaction with teammates is limited and networking opportunities are scarce.
In my career, I’ve realised that casual social interactions with co-workers are crucial in spurring new ideas. The Department of Finance where I started work in 1972 was a thrilling work environment, with a daily ritual that saw all staff ranks having tea together, evidenced by the ever-busy kettle socket in the large office rooms. Other than workplace information, conversations about sports and politics organically added to the mix, and that’s where I picked up my economic knowledge. It facilitated us, the more junior staff, to casually seek wisdom from our experienced colleagues.
My transition to ESRI in 1984 was initially a culture shock for me, as individuals were confined to their offices, coffee was wheeled to your desk, and interaction between employees was minimal. Spotting a difference from my previous work culture, I introduced a coffee percolator and my office door was always open around midday. The delightful smell of coffee remarkably played its role in inviting my neighbours for small talk covering daily events or exchange of thoughts regarding our various research areas. Over time, ESRI’s culture evolved from solitary research to joint projects, with many of them famously brainstormed over a cup of coffee. This contributed significantly to a tripling of the ESRI’s research contributions from 1985 to 2000, despite the slight increase in staff numbers.
Over time, predominantly working from home might entail significant costs if strategies to promote casual interactions, which ease teamwork, stimulate new ideas and solve problems, are not devised. The possibility might be that in-office days may turn out to be most productive during those moments having coffee or randomly meeting up at the water dispenser, and not necessarily during screen time.