Numbers working from home to drop to 16% in next year

WHILE 73% of organisations still have more than 75% of their staff working from home, that figure is expected to drop to 16% in 12 months time.

This is among the primary findings of a new survey from the Association of Compliance Officers of Ireland (ACOI). The survey of more than 250 organisations, answered by ACOI members with responsibility for compliance in organisations throughout the country, also noted that 79% of businesses currently have appointed a staff member, or team, to take charge of adherence to the Return-to-Work protocols as workforces throughout the country transition back to the office. The ACOI contrasted the findings with a similar survey they undertook at the same time last year.

Highlights from the ACOI Return to Work survey include:

22% of organisations currently have 100% of their staff currently working from home (down from 27% in 2020) - just 3% believe that this will be the case in 12 months’ time.

91% of organisations currently have more than 50% of staff working from home – this figure is set to drop to 49% by this time next year.

Home based working currently accounts for 78% of staff working practices, compared with 73% in the same period in 2020.

Amongst firms that have dedicated Covid compliance staff, a large portion have a dedicated team responsible for compliance (63%) as opposed to having an individual (37%).

Speaking of the findings Michael Kavanagh, CEO of the ACOI, commented: “Just 8% of all the organisations we surveyed said they had no plan to appoint someone with responsibility for the Return-to-Work protocols.

“It’s evident that this role will have a place in most organisations going forward and for the foreseeable future. The sense we are getting from many employers is that there’s going to be a lot of work involved to ensure a safe and streamlined return to the traditional place of work, be that on a part-time or full-time basis, and for this to happen someone needs to be leading the way.

“That more organisations (63%) are leaning more towards engaging a team of Covid Return-to-Work adherence staff, rather than just an individual, could perhaps be reflective of the challenging nature of the role - it’s not necessarily a one-person job, particularly in a larger company.

“Between adherence to the various protocols such as mask wearing, sufficient ventilation, and social distancing - not to mention ensuring the correct roll out of sanitising procedures and increased employee hygiene measures – there is a lot to consider, and to, in turn, communicate to staff members.”

Highlights of the ACOI Return to Work survey include:

22% of organisations currently have 100% of their staff currently working from home (down from 27% in 2020) - just 3% believe that this will be the case in 12 months’ time.

Home based working currently accounts for 78% of staff working practices, compared with 73% in the same period in 2020.

Amongst firms that have dedicated Covid compliance staff, a large portion have a dedicated team responsible for compliance (63%) as opposed to having an individual (37%).

22% of organisations currently have 100% of their staff currently working from home (down from 27% in 2020) - just 3% believe that this will be the case in 12 months’ time.

Mr Kavanagh added: “The survey indicates that while companies in this sector have adapted en masse to remote working, it is not a situation that most see likely to continue ‘as is’ into next year.”