Working from the office on Fridays has continued to decline, according to a new survey.
The survey of more than 320 companies conducted by the Dublin Chamber of Commerce and estate agents Savills found Dublin firms are requiring staff to return to the office on more days each week, with Thursday now the day when the greatest number of employees are in.
The survey, to be published by the chamber on Thursday, finds that more than half (55 per cent) of firms ask staff to travel to the workplace two or three days a week, an increase of 7 per cent on last year’s survey.
Some 57 per cent of the firms requiring staff to work from the office were in the tech, professional and other services sectors.
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The number of firms offering employees full freedom to choose when they come to the office has declined markedly in that time, from 45 per cent to 33 per cent. More than a quarter (26 per cent) of firms require office workers to come in on “core” days.
This has contributed to a growing imbalance in the particular days people spend in the office, with significant increases over the past nine months in occupancy levels across Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Around a third of firms say between 71 per cent and all of their space is filled on those days and, though significantly lower, the numbers are up for Mondays too.
There would appear to be a growing acceptance that Fridays are for working from home, however, with 60 per cent of companies who participated in the survey, seven per cent more than at the tail-end of last year, reporting occupancy of under 30 per cent on the last working day of the week.
More than a quarter of firms (26 per cent) suggest almost nobody comes in on a Friday, with attendance running at between zero and 10 per cent. The Chamber says the finding supports the anecdotal evidence its officials have witnessed at events where members have talked about “Thursday being the new Friday”.
“I can feel it, there’s definitely a different dynamic,” says Willie Aherne, owner of The Palace Bar on Dublin’s Fleet Street and vice-chair of the Licensed Vintners Association board.
“Between five and nine would have been very much a suits and office crowd but that is more or less gone now on a Friday. A lot of places are feeling it.
“We are blessed where we are, tourism is strong and there are events or concerts every second night in the city but the Palace was always a bar where people would meet for two or three drinks after work and then head home. Covid definitely upended that. It’s a different landscape. I speak to people now who say they could kick a football around their office some days.”
Asked about why they are generally asking workers to come to the office more, 74 per cent of survey respondents cited a desire to cultivate a positive team culture, 64 per cent suggested it helped with the “onboarding” of new team members and 55 per cent referenced a desire to combat isolation and help with mental health.
The fact recruitment and retention issues were seen as the leading reason for the continuation of hybrid and remote working suggests the return to the office might well be accelerated in the event the currently strong jobs market weakens.
As things stand, 41 per cent of employers said their current arrangements had improved morale in the office and 40 per cent said it actually suits their business model.
The Workplace Relations Commission is currently working on the compilation of guidelines for administering the right of workers to request remote working into the future. Just under 60 per cent of the firms said they believed the guidelines would be useful to them in their dealings with staff.
“SMEs appear to lean more towards remote work, whereas larger firms with over 50 staff are inclined to increase office days. A one-size-fits-all mindset won’t work, and this must be reflected within the Code of Practice being designed by the WRC,” said Mary Rose Burke, CEO of Dublin Chamber.
