Office Versus Home 2020

Work

As COVID-19 forces thousands to swap office life for working from home what will the long-term impacts be?

Due to COVID-19 measures, BNP Paribas Ireland's 620 staff are working from home, leaving its Dublin and Galway offices empty. Before the pandemic, the company allowed some working from home, but nothing on the 2020 scale.

However, management has been pleasantly surprised with the results. Chief Executive of BNP Paribas in Ireland and Chair of the Federation of International Banks Ireland, Derek Kehoe suspects when life returns to some form of normality,

The future of the office environment will be that people will probably be working one or two days from home if they want to.

Previously working from home was seen as stifling innovation as there were no opportunities for collaboration. Professor of Human Resource Management at Dublin City University Business School David Collings believes,

Being co-located at least some of the time certainly facilitates those relationships.

Research carried out by Behaviour and Attitudes for Laya Healthcare has found that four out of ten workers are struggling. Working from home prevents them from being able to switch off. Two out of every five workers say they work longer hours at home than they would in the office.

For employers remote working arrangements require smaller office buildings, meaning they can spend less on rent. Also, productivity can be higher. Employees benefit from being able to spend more time at home, even in rural areas, where broadband allows.

Chief Executive Officer of the Western Development Commission Tomás Ó Síocháin believes remote working arrangements improve the overall work-life balance, and can contribute to reducing commuting times, congestion and carbon emissions.