A third of Ireland's remote workers are lonely, says new research

Remote or hybrid working in Ireland has negatively impacted relationships between colleagues and teams. 

That's according to new research from Microsoft Ireland, which surveyed over 600 workers across the country to identify key areas for Irish business leaders to deal with the uncharted territory of permanent hybrid working. 

The research found that remote workers reported feelings of loneliness and demotivation, as well as difficulties in building trust among team members. 

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Thirty seven percent of hybrid workers reportedly felt lonelier than they had been before, with the same percentage believing creativity and innovation was more difficult. 

Workers also reported difficulties in building trust among team members and challenges with innovation and idea generation.

However, according to the report, there is no appetite to revert to pre-pandemic ways of working. 

Priorities for workers now include flexible working hours, a desire for a more positive work culture, and strong health and wellbeing policies. 

Poor company culture was listed as the biggest factor as to why people sought new employment in 2021, with 87% of employees who left their jobs citing it as a reason. 

A positive workplace culture was reportedly the most important benefit an employer could provide. 

About 40% of workers indicated they were considering a job change this year, which was flagged in the research as a future recruitment and retention challenge for employers. 

The findings also recommended ways to improve retention, including the need to empower managers to lead teams and respond to flexibility, stating, "When employees thrive, businesses thrive." 

The report stated: "It’s clear that we need to rethink the role of the office and consider the ‘who, where and why’ of in-person gatherings. For flexible work to be sustainable, there needs to be boundaries to guard against a 24/7 workday."