LEADING BY EXAMPLE ON THE HOME FRONT
WORKING from home is part of the ‘new normal’ – and even the Tánaiste is relocating.
Leo Varadkar has set himself up in a home office as he encourages businesses to work remotely.
The Tánaiste said that if working from home was rolled out properly it would have huge benefits and would allow parents to manage their personal and professional lives better.
Sharing a picture of his home office, he said on Twitter: ‘Setting up my new home working station. The Govt wants remote working to become part of the new normal. If done right, the benefits will be huge: reduced business costs, better work-life balance especially for parents, less traffic, lower emissions & time saved on the commute.’
Since the outbreak of Covid-19, numerous employees have been forced to work from home over concerns that the virus could spread throughout offices.
The Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation has launched a public consultation on guidance for remote working for both employers and employees.
Speaking to the Irish Daily Mail, the CEO of the Irish Small and Medium Enterprises Association (ISME), Neil McDonnell, said remote working will be essential for some employees for a ‘long time to come’.
Mr McDonnell said that Covid-19 puts a massive burden on any business which wants to maintain an office environment because of the hygiene requirement.
He said things such as hotdesking or shared offices may be done away with it.
‘How people will use shared facilities like kitchenettes and all that sort of thing are going to be much more onerous in this world. To that extent it does make it easier for people to work from home, but businesses will struggle for a while to get their heads around the control aspect of it,’ said Mr McDonnell.