On January 21st, as part of an overall announcement on the lifting of restrictions, Taoiseach Micheál Martin said the phased return to offices could begin.

And this week, The Tánaiste Leo Varadkar said he intends to strengthen legislation around remote working, following the publication of the Heads of Bill last week.

During the Pandemic a lot of people were able to ditch commuting and enjoy significantly less stress by setting up offices in their houses, or in remote working hubs.

Now that restrictions have eased, a lot of people are resistant to the thought of going back to the five-day-a-week office set up, and want to stay either working remotely or adopt a hybrid model.

Maria had an in-depth discussion with Mary Connaughton, Director of CIPD Ireland, a professional body for the HR industry and people development.

Remote working into the future

Mary said the Pandemic has really opened up the eyes of both employers and their staff, as to how feasible remote working is, from both perspectives.  However, Mary says their members have many questions about designing these models into the future.

She says in general members are looking to allow hybrid working, and CIPD is working with employers on the rules around that, eg. when staff need to collaborate, and when they can work from home.

Maria put it to Mary that once employees prove they can be as productive at home, should they not be entitled to do that? Mary said the ideal preference is hybrid, especially in terms of team work and brainstorming on projects.

She says training and learning has not always been of the highest quality in remote terms, and she also cited social connections as a very important reason to have people in the office from time to time.

In her discussion with Maria, Mary also had some suggestions on what should be included in the government legislation on remote working.

Have a listen to the discussion through the link in this podcast.

And for all Déise podcasts, click here.