The latest National Remote Working Employee Survey has found 94% of workers would like to work remotely some or all of the time when the Covid-19 crisis ends.
The survey carried out by NUI Galway and the Western Development Commission shows that 23% of respondents would even consider relocating because of the possibility of remote working, while 7% have already moved.
The first phase of the research published last April found that 83% of respondents favoured working from home.
However, at that point, schools were closed and many people were still struggling to adapt to home working in terms of issues such as home office space, technology and broadband.
Phase 2 represents an up-to-the-minute snapshot of attitudes to remote working, as the 5,600 responses were only collated since the beginning of October, six months after the initial lockdown.
Among those who can work remotely, 94% favour working remotely on an ongoing basis some or all of the time, which is up from 83% in April.
Just over half (54%) would like to work remotely several times per week.
The survey found 27% want to work remotely five days a week, which is more than double the 12% of respondents in April who favoured the full-time remote option, while 13% want to work from home several times per month.
In April, 16% did not wish to work remotely at all but now, only 6% of respondents continue to rule it out, suggesting that even those who were initially most resistant are changing their viewpoint.
The NUIG/WDC research indicates that the number of respondents working fully remotely dropped from 87% in April to 68% in the first week of October, reflecting a greater mix of onsite and remote working.
As for location, 23% of respondents said they would consider relocating within Ireland based on their experience of remote working.
A further 7% said they had already moved, with the top regions for relocation being the West (Galway/Mayo/Roscommon), the South-West (Cork/Kerry) and the Mid-West (Clare/Limerick/Tipperary).
While 16% of respondents said they may consider moving, just over half (54%) ruled it out as an option.
Among the challenges raised in this month's research about remote working were loneliness, isolation, staying motivated and difficulties with the physical workspace.
Back in April, the main challenges identified were not being able to switch off from work, collaborating and communicating with colleagues, and poor physical workspace.
The top three benefits of remote work remained unchanged: no traffic or commuting, greater flexibility in managing the working day, and reduced costs of commuting.
The survey found 36% of respondents do not respond to emails outside of working hours.
Around a quarter do respond because they choose to, while another quarter respond because of workload.
Professor Alma McCarthy, Professor of Public Sector Management, J.E. Cairnes School of Business and Economics, NUI Galway said the research showed there was a "resounding" demand from employees to continue working remotely post-crisis.
"The remote working experience presents a game-changer for how many organisations will manage their workforce into the future. For those who can work remotely, they seem to have settled into it quite effectively six months on from lockdown," she said.
Chief Executive Officer of the Western Development Commission Tomás Ó Síocháin said the survey data would help to ensure the correct measures were in place to support those working remotely.
"Identifying the opportunities and challenges will mean that remote working infrastructure such as broadband and remote working hubs, for example, will allow both individuals and communities to minimise the challenges and to make the most of this fundamental shift in the way we work," he said.
