The results of Dublin Chamber’s Q4 2022 Business Outlook Survey revealed Wednesday to be the most popular day of the week for employees to work from the office, with employers recording an average occupancy rate of 61% to 70% on that particular day, with Tuesdays (51% to 60%) and Thursdays (51% to 60%) also proving popular. Mondays and Fridays were noted as the least popular days for office occupancy, with employers recording attendance of 10% or lower. One year on since Covid restrictions were lifted in Ireland, about half of employers require workers to be present in the office for two or three days a week.

Staff retention and recruitment is the main reason employers continue to offer remote and hybrid working arrangements. However, three in four companies said their main concern around remote and hybrid working was that it made it more difficult for them to cultivate a positive team culture, while more than three in five said their main worry was that such arrangements made the onboarding of new staff harder. Three in five firms said their main concern was staff isolation or mental health.

Furthermore, despite most companies offering remote and hybrid working arrangements, more than three in four employers surveyed have not changed the size of their office footprint since Q3 2021.

More than four in five firms note in-person engagement with colleagues as a top driver in encouraging employees to return to work onsite; followed by fringe benefits - such as meeting with friends after work, shopping or attending events (40%); and virtual meeting fatigue (39%).

You can read the full Q4 Survey Report for further analysis and commentary. If you have not already done so, we strongly encourage you to complete Dublin Chamber’s live Q1 2023 Business Outlook Survey.