A survey published by IrishJobs has shown that hybrid working options have remained stable in a cautious hiring environment.
Remote and flexible working, for the many people who have adopted it, has been a game changer when it comes to maintaining a healthy work/life balance. Whether it is the lack of a commute, the ability to care for a dependent, the freedom to work in a comfortable space or the feeling of autonomy, working from home comes with a range of benefits for the employee.
For the employer however, despite the potential for higher staff retention and lower overheads, remote working has its challenges, namely less opportunity for in-person connection, decreased collaboration and reduced oversight. In fact many influential companies including Amazon, Dell and JPMorgan are enforcing return-to-office mandates, despite the popularity of remote and hybrid working.
Now it seems that companies in Ireland may be following the trend, as a Q3 report issued today (23 October) by jobs platform IrishJobs has found that the number of fully remote jobs was the lowest in almost four years, falling to just 1.9pc. The report revealed that hybrid vacancies have remained relatively stable, fluctuating between 11.2pc and 12.4pc over the past six quarters.
Working trends and the labour market
A Linkedin report released earlier this year found that Ireland ranks second in Europe for remote work opportunities, showing that employees based in the region greatly value flexible working. Despite this, figures from the IrishJobs report show that the fall in fully remote roles is part of a trend seen over the last four quarters.
The stabilisation of figures around hybrid working throughout the last six quarters however, are indicative of flexible work becoming a “more permanent and substantial feature of the Irish labour market”. IrishJobs’ research shows that searches for hybrid opportunities are up 46pc in Q3, when compared to the previous year.
“Recent return-to-the-office announcements made by large multinationals have caused waves in workplaces not just in Ireland but around the world,” said Sam Dooley, the country director of the Stepstone Group Ireland, with responsibility for IrishJobs.
“Our analysis of job postings offering the working models that emerged during the pandemic reveals two different trends. While fully remote working continues to decline, hybrid working has stabilised, indicating that it looks set to become a long-term feature of the labour market.”
The study also indicated that the current Irish jobs market is somewhat cautious, having begun to even out after a surge in hiring. The number of vacancies has fallen by 13pc year on year.
However, the IT and engineering sectors were shown to be two major sources of job vacancies in Q3, with employment availability of 5.2pc and 5.1pc respectively. Roles such as senior engineer, process engineer and qualified technicians, as well as software engineers and senior applications specialists were in high demand in the last three months.
Regional activity
Regionally, Co Galway experienced the highest increase in job vacancies in Q3, rising by 14pc, which the report attributed to strong hiring activity in the healthcare and science sectors. Clinical nurse manager and staff nurse were some of the most in-demand roles over the quarter.
Results were mixed in other counties, including in Ireland’s larger cities, with the report showing a modest quarterly increase in vacancies in Cork of 1.4pc, while Limerick and Dublin both recorded quarter-on-quarter decreases of 14pc and 10pc respectively.
“As employers navigate a tight labour market, embedding hybrid working in their offering reflects a clear response to candidate demand for flexible working arrangements,” Dooley said.
“Jobseeker searches on IrishJobs for hybrid and remote opportunities are up 46% and 9%, respectively, while IrishJobs research published earlier this year revealed that nearly half of jobseekers would be willing to turn down opportunities that do not provide hybrid or fully remote working options,” he said.
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