Meanwhile, an Indeed survey suggests a rise in demand for part-time and weekend work, suggesting groups such as parents and students are feeling financial challenges.
Wednesday is the most popular day of the week for employees to work from the office, according to a new survey by Dublin Chamber.
The survey found that offices had an average occupancy rate of 61pc to 70pc on Wednesday, the most out of any weekday. Monday and Friday were the least popular days, with a weekly average occupancy rate between 0pc and 10pc.
The report – published in association with Savills Ireland – surveyed more than 500 companies across the Dublin region about their remote and hybrid working practices. These responses were taken towards the end of 2022.
The findings suggest many companies are adopting a hybrid work approach, rather than a full return to the office or full remote working.
Only 9pc of the companies said their employees must work in the office five days a week. More than 20pc said their staff must spend three days in the office each week, while 27pc said their staff must spend two days in the office each week.
Nearly half of the respondents said the specific days required in the office were flexible. This is a higher result than the 32pc that Dublin firms expected when asked about post-Covid predictions in 2021.
The results are unsurprisingly different to surveys taken before the Covid-19 pandemic, in which most Dublin firms reported an office occupancy rate between 90pc to 100pc on each weekday.
Adjusting office spaces
Despite the changes to the amount of office use, 74pc of business respondents said they do not plan to change the size of their premises. Roughly 8pc said they are decreasing their premises size, while 7pc plan to increase their size.
But while most aren’t changing the size of their offices, more than 70pc plan to make adjustments to the layout of their premises.
Roughly 40pc of respondents plan to reconfigure the office layout to reflect changing work patterns – such as remote working – while 33pc are making a change to facilitate social distancing in the office.
Growth in part-time and casual work
Meanwhile, a survey by jobs website Indeed found an increase in searches for part-time and weekend work in 2022, along with a rise in searches for jobs with no experience required.
Indeed said these results suggest an uptake in job searches by people normally on the outskirts of the job market, such as long-term unemployed, semi-retired or younger people.
It is possible these groups are seeking to enter or rejoin the workforce due to the financial challenges associated with rising inflation.
When surveying 3,000 adults in Ireland, 67pc said a higher salary is the top criteria when considering a new position, while 48pc said benefits packages are their top criteria.
“These trends clearly show that jobseekers are feeling the pinch right now as wage growth sits at roughly half of inflation rates,” Indeed economist Jack Kennedy said. “Rising searches for part-time and weekend work potentially reflects that people who need flexibility, such as parents, students or people who are semi-retired, want to engage in the workforce in a way that can fit into their lives.”
The top two searches in Ireland were “visa sponsorship, healthcare assistant” and “visa sponsorship, elderly care”. These searches increased by 532pc and 421pc respectively, compared to 2021.
The visa sponsorship element suggests many of these searches are coming from other countries, which echoes a previous Indeed survey that suggested Ireland is one of the few European countries experiencing a “brain gain”.
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