Home Offices – Remote & Home Working is Here to Stay! An Infographic from Corcoran’s
The figures are undeniable. There is a definite shift among Irish workers (and the wider EU and UK) to move away from a central corporate office to offices in devolved remote working and home working locations. This view was endorsed by the “Remote Working in Ireland, 2022 National Survey Findings” published by the Whittaker Institute for Innovation and Societal Change in May 2022.
The three types of worker roles
Broadly speaking there are three types of primary office working roles. These are:
- Centralised office role – working full-time from a centralised office along with co-workers
- Hybrid – working somewhere between one and four days per week at home or in another remote location
- Fully remotely – working full time from home or in another remote location
Changes in working habits
The predominant shift in recent times has been from the centralised office role (only 8%) to either the hybrid role (52%) or the fully remote role (40%), with statistics taken from the Irish survey. This shift has moved faster in pace since the COVID-19 pandemic with employers enabling workers to work from home, particularly during lockdowns.
IT infrastructure has been an essential enabler
Of course, enabling homeworking meant placing an IT infrastructure in place, which is still being used post-pandemic. In fact, IT was for a long time one of the barriers to remote working and home working. Advances in broadband, IT hardware, and IT software including communication tools such as Zoom, make it clear that remote and home working is here to stay!
Remote working and home working infographic
We have created an infographic discussing advances in remote and home working, which has the following sections:
The sections above will give you a flavour of what the infographic contains, but below you will see the whole infographic.
See the infographic!
REMOTE & HOME WORKING ARE HERE TO STAY!
But
what is remote working, why is it gaining popularity, how has it grown, and what is needed to make home working a reality?
WHAT IS REMOTE WORKING?
Remote working is the enablement of employees to do their work from a location remote to the offices of the employer. This could include remote working from:
1. Employees home
2. Employee shared space
3. Home of a co-worker and
4. Anywhere with an internet connection!
RISE OF THE HYBRID WORKER
This is called hybrid working and is a form of working that both employees and employers are more comfortable with in 2022.
A NEW EMPHASIS ON REMOTE WORKING
Why has there been a move towards remote working?
1. Growing trend over 20 years
2. COVID-19 escalation
3. Lower costs for both businesses and employees
4. Positive green and environmental impact due to minimal travel
5. Demanded by the modern workforce
6. Increased access to skilled staff for employers
7. Internet availability and IT infrastructure for remote working is now place
HOME WORKING BENEFITS FOR EMPLOYEES
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Flexible hours
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Improved motivation
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Improved work-life balance
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IT Infrastructure
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Lower infections
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Reduced costs:
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Work clothing
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Food
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Travel
-
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Reduced commuting time
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Relocation to desired location
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Work anywhere without leave:
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Family
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Friends home
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Holiday home
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Depending on Company Policy
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HOME WORKING BENEFITS FOR BUSINESSES AND EMPLOYERS
Here are some benefits of home working for businesses:
Business continuity
Cover multiple time zones
Fewer meetings
Higher productivity
Improved Environmental footprint
No relocation costs
Office space savings:
Insurance
Rates
Rent/Buying properties
Utility costs
Other savings too!
Reduced staff turnover
Timeliness – employees will arrive on time
Wider workforce pool
(not just local)
HOME WORKING CHALLENGES FOR EMPLOYEES
1. Communication difficulties
2. Isolation
3. Possibly longer working hours
4. Work merges with personal life
HOME WORKING CHALLENGES FOR BUSINESSES
1. Hovering supervisors
2. Providing emotional support
3. Remote ICT systems implementation
4. Inconsistent internet availability
5. Resolving technical challenges
HOW HAS HOME WORKING GROWN OVER TIME?
1. Workers planning to work mainly from home rose from 30% to 42% between April 2021 and May 2022 [1]
2. In March 2020 before COVID-19 12% of workers had worked from home in the past 7 days, this rose to 38% in March 2022 [1]
3. In the April 2022 Remote Working in Ireland survey, answers revealed the following working locations for workers [2]:
Hybrid – one or more days from home per week
Fully remotely
Working fully in person only
4. In the same survey employees already working remotely were asked about their preferences between remote and in person working, and the results were [2]:
5 days a week
1 day
2 days
3 days
4 days
Don’t want to work remotely
5. In a survey, London workers revealed the following shift from pre-Covid (February 2022) compared to April 2022 [3]:
6. The same survey revealed the following benefits were perceived by these London workers [3]:
HOW TO MAKE HOME WORKING A REALITY?
WORKING SPACE
A home office, spare bedroom, or at the very least a desk
Garden offices are becoming an affordable and popular choice for many home workers
Utilities such as electricity, heating, phone and internet
Office furniture and equipment
OFFICE FURNITURE
Arguably the most important requirement is having the right office furniture and equipment
An Infographic from Corcoran’s
We hope you have found this infographic from Corcoran’s interesting and valuable. Why not visit our website to embrace remote and home working by investigating our home and office furniture ranges?
Contact us via our contact page
Sources:
[1] https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/employmentandemployeetypes/articles/ishybridworkingheretostay/2022-05-23
[2] http://whitakerinstitute.ie/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/Remote-Working-Survey-Report-2022-final-updated.pdf
[3] https://www.kcl.ac.uk/policy-institute/assets/wfh-revolution-how-new-ways-of-working-are-changing-london.pdf
Watch our video!
We have also created a video to support our infographic, simply click on the link below to view the video.
Choose Corcorans to buy quality office furniture for home offices
Another part of essential remote working and home working infrastructure is office furniture.
Choose from a wide range of quality office furniture here at Corcoran’s. We summarise our range below, with all the supporting furniture you will need to facilitate your move to remote and home working and will ensure you thrive in your 9-5!
We provide links to our main category pages as well as blog posts on these topics in the section below:
- Office chairs – choosing comfortable, stylish, and ergonomically designed office chairs is crucial for home offices. There are many factors to consider when buying office chairs. We also recommend you read our dos and don’ts guide to buying office chairs
- Office desks – we have various types of office desks available including desks with storage to meet a variety of needs. It is also essential to position office tables for maximising workplace productivity
- Bookcases – are essential for storing important work documents and books, and our range of diverse bookcases has something for everyone. Bring personality and function with our bookcases range
- Filing cabinets – buying a filing cabinet is a great idea as an alternative or in addition to a bookcase. In jobs with significant paperwork, they are a lifesaver! Lockable cabinets are available for those with sensitive documents which need to be kept secure
- Table lamps – choose from various types of table lamps for home offices with gooseneck lamps, spotlight lamps, and table lamps all being among the best lamp options
Related blog articles
We also recommend you read these related articles about home office furniture, which will help you make an informed choice:
- Ergonomic Factors When You Buy Office Furniture in Ireland
- 7 Ways to Update Your Home Office on a Budget and
- Common Home Office Problems Solved!
Advice about buying office furniture to work from home
We hope you have enjoyed this blog article and our infographic. Here at Corcoran’s, we passionately believe that remote and home working is here to stay. Contact us for friendly, informal advice about buying home office furniture. Contact us using the following methods:
- Phone – 064 669 1112 and
- Email – using our contact form
