Half of large businesses are expected to change their remote working models, requiring workers to attend the office for a fixed number of days per week by 2027.
Research commissioned by law firm William Fry shows that companies are moving away from unrestricted flexibility and towards a more structured hybrid working model.
According to the report, 34% of the large employers with 50 or more staff already require a fixed number of days in the office, rising to 50% by next year.
Larger employers are more than twice as likely to operate a hybrid working model, with 62% doing so compared with less than 30% of small businesses.
Just 5% of larger employers anticipate a full return to the office within the next 12 months, and 4% over the next two years.
Three days in the office is the most common hybrid working arrangement, adopted by a third (33%) of the 404 Irish businesses surveyed.
The challenges of hybrid working cited by employers included accountability and performance tracking, team collaboration, social and cultural considerations, onboarding and training, and innovation and creativity concerns.
“The findings suggest that hybrid working is not being reversed; it is now firmly embedded in the Irish workplace, but how it is structured is becoming more deliberate,” said Nuala Clayton, partner and head of employment, pensions & incentives at William Fry.
“Employers are looking more closely at what works for their organisation, their people and the type of work they do.
“The direction of travel is moving towards more structured hybrid models that try to balance these competing priorities for employers and employees,” Clayton said.
