Working from home is still the ideal choice as most of us prefer out-of-office life
THE novelty of working from home during the Covid pandemic seems not to have worn off as the majority of us prefer to avoid the office, an Irish Daily Mail poll has found.
Asked how many days a week ‘would you ideally spend in the office, rather than working from home?’, 29% said two days, while just 11% of adults would like to return to the traditional five-day week.
Men showed more fondness for a full-time office environment at 15%, almost double that of women at 8%.
However, the appetite to work entirely from home wasn’t too favourable either, with just 13% opting to stay away from the office throughout the week.
More men, 17%, opted to avoid the office altogether than women at 11%.
It comes as a number of major employers have stepped up attempts to get workers to return to on-site working.
Last summer, a study from telecoms regulator Comreg
Just 1% would like a salary of €500k
revealed that almost half of Irish people now work from home at least one day a week, while a third spend at least three days a week working away from the office.
In 2019, just 7% of Ireland’s workforce said they ‘usually’ work from home – this figure soared to 25% in 2022, the biggest percentage point increase of any EU country.
Some 32% of employees worked from home at least one day a week during 2022, figures from the Central Statistics Office show.
The Irish Daily Mail survey also asked what people’s ideal annual salary was, which resulted in an average income of €72,530.
More than a third of people (37%) said anywhere from €30,000 to €50,000 would be ideal while just 1% would like to earn more than €500,000 a year. Asked what would be the most important factor after your salary in accepting a job offer, 29% said the length of paid holidays, while 27% would want a flexible working-fromhome policy.
Another 22% said a pension contribution would be an important factor, while 13% of people cited health insurance.
Just 1% said a free canteen would be a chief element when accepting a job offer.
Last month, Castlebar, Co. Mayo, emerged as the best place to live in terms of worklife balance with nearby Ballina in second place.
The study by Switcher.ie was based on data like access to local amenities such as primary schools, supermarkets and leisure centres, services such as broadband speed and mobile coverage, proximity to green spaces and transport routes, along with house prices and crime rates.
New legislation under the Work-Life Balance Act will soon give employees the right to request remote-work carers’ leave and other flexible arrangements. The fourth annual National Remote Working Survey, which was released in November, showed that 44% of workers would change job, even if it means taking a pay cut, if their remote working preferences were not facilitated.
It also showed that 55% of respondents indicated that they would change job if their remote/hybrid working preferences are not facilitated even if it means less promotion opportunities.
The Amarách Research survey for DMG polled 1,000 people and was conducted on February 13 and 14.
Castlebar best for work-life balance