Data released by Eurostat, the EU’s statistical agency, shows that 6.5% of Irish workers frequently work from their homes. The number is above the European Union average (5.2%), but it still lags behind 9 other countries in the bloc.
The Netherlands is the country with the largest number of remote workers, with 14% of employees working from home, followed by Finland (13.3%), Luxembourg (11%), Austria (10%), Denmark (7.8% ), Estonia (7.6%), Slovenia (6.9%), Belgium (6.6%) and France (6.6%).
Remote work is already a reality in many companies, and it may be one of the solutions to the housing crisis that some cities face.
A survey conducted by Pure Telecom shows that 44% of respondents believe that distance work can help alleviate high accommodation costs in cities, allowing employees to move to more accessible locations, as they would not need to move to the office daily. Of these respondents, 19% said they would move out if they had the opportunity to work from home, and another 25% would consider the option.
For Alan Brown, director of O2 Telecom, the way people work is radically changing, and technology today is capable of complementing or even replacing the traditional office, allowing work to be done from home, from a cafe or even inside the train.
Some sites like Remote Jobs Ireland and Jobs.ie are dedicated to listing remote job openings at Irish companies. There are several areas of activity, such as programming, marketing, advertising, administration, etc.
