From Monday, January 24, the instruction to work from home in Ireland will be lifted.
It has been nearly two years since people had to leave the office culture behind and set up shop at home.
Amid the settling in period, many found remote working to be extremely hard, but now, 22 months on it has become second nature.
With the last-minute announcement by the government to allow for a return to the office, Forsa is calling for employers to continue to facilitate those who wish to continue with their remote working setup.
Speaking today, Bernard Harbour, Head of communications with Forsa said employers should not ignore the newly discovered benefits of hybrid working.
“In most surveys of employers and unions, productivity has either sustained or gone up, and also there’s obviously plenty of benefits for employees as well in terms of being able to manage their time more productively, see more of their families, spend less time commuting, etcetera.”
He went on to say that in these changing times, employers should take a strategic approach to the return.
“One is to ensure that any return to the workplace is staged over time, that it’s not done in a rush and it’s done properly,” he said.
“Secondly, we want to make sure that the benefits of remote working and blended working are not lost so that for the longer term, we have agreements in place that people can work remotely for their own benefit but also for the benefit of employers and of the public service itself.”
While the advice to work from home will officially be lifted tomorrow, the onus is on each individual business to create a plan for the phased return.
Some may jump at the chance to welcome employees back while others will take weeks to set their plans in motion.
