More days spent in the office embraced by Dublin businesses

by HRHQ Editorial Team

Just under a third of businesses in Dublin now have their employees in the office three days a week, a Dublin Chamber survey has revealed.

One-in-three businesses (32%) report that their employees are in the office three days a week, up from 27% in Q3 2023 and up from 22% from Q4 2022. While only 22% of employees are spending two days in the office, a notable decrease from 27% and 28% in Q4 2022 and Q3 2023 respectively.

Dublin Chamber’s latest Business Outlook Survey, delivers a report that analyses hybrid and remote working trends, as well as factors impacting election priorities such as commercial rates, transport and sustainability.

Highlight findings for hybrid working include:

• There has been a consistent increase in companies implementing core days in the office, rising from 21% in Q4 2022 to 27% in Q3 2023 and reaching 39% in Q2 2024.
•  ‘Midweek days’ (Tuesday to Thursday) have shown a clear upward trend in office capacity since 2023, with an average increase of 18 percentage points for each day.

Aebhric McGibney, Director of Public and International Affairs, commented, “these shifts indicate a clear trend towards more frequent in-office presence. This aligns with anecdotal conservations heard within Dublin Chamber’s roundtable discussions.”

While the growing preference for increased office presence is evident, it is also important to note the sustained interest in workplace flexibility. This quarter, over one third of businesses are offering total flexibility to staff.

From a transport point of view 42% of Dublin firms said MetroLink is their top priority and Luas expansion seen as the second most important issue.