Half of organisations believe at least 50% of their staff will still be working from home this time next year, a new survey from the Association of Compliance Officers of Ireland (ACOI) reveals.
The survey of more than 250 organisations found a third of organisations believe between 50%-75% of their staff will still be working remotely in 12 months’ time.
Some 13% of businesses believe between 75%-100% of their staff will still be working from home, while 3% believe every member of staff will still be remote working.
The ACOI Return to Work survey found most organisations still have the majority of their staff working from home, with 78% stating that between 75% and 100% of their staff were still remote.
Just 22% of organisations currently have all of their staff working from home, down from 27% in 2020.
Return-to-work compliance officer
The survey also found eight in 10 organisations had appointed a dedicated staff member, or team, to take charge of adherence to return-to-work protocols as staff head back to the office.
Among firms that have dedicated Covid compliance staff, 63% have a dedicated team responsible for compliance while 37% have just one individual responsible.
Just 8% of all organisations surveyed said they had no plan to appoint someone with responsibility for the return-to-work protocols.
Commenting on the findings, Michael Kavanagh, chief executive of the ACOI, said it was evident this role would have a place in most organisations 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.
“Between adherence to the various protocols such as mask wearing, sufficient ventilation and social distancing, not to mention ensuring the correct rollout of sanitising procedures and increased employee hygiene measures, there is a lot to consider, and to, in turn, communicate to staff members.”
