Two-thirds of us love working from home and would use hubs

MORE than six in 10 workers would love to work from home and would use the Government’s new remote working hubs if given the opportunity, a Taxback. com survey has found.

The survey discovered that 55% of workers considered coming into the office as more costly than working from home, which prompted them to express their interest in the Government’s new Connected Hub facilities – more than 60% would use one if it was nearby.

Barry Cahill, head of Taxback.com’s employee financial wellbeing service, said: ‘More than half of respondents felt that working in the office is more costly than working from home. This stands to reason, as the expenses incurred going into the office every day can stack up quickly – the cost of commuting is the obvious one, and probably the most significant, for most people, but there are also the costs of lunches, coffees, even “work clothes” adding to the bill.’

The remote working hubs, recently announced by Rural and Community Development Minister Heather Humphreys, aims to support remote workers by providing desk space in repurposed buildings including former convents, garda stations, and other unused buildings with an investment of more than €100 million by the State.

Mr Cahill added: ‘Work hubs could really come into their own in the wake of the pandemic as organisations in certain industries come to the realisation that staff don’t always have to be on-site.

‘They would also be beneficial for regional development and could really deliver for local economies, perhaps even feeding into addressing our rising property price issues. For example, if a person once based in Dublin can work from a hub in the West of Ireland, then this could open up opportunities for them in terms of home ownership.’

The survey also revealed that a quarter of people were unaware of what hubs are but Mr Cahill believes this will change over the next two years.