Thousands of people in Laois leave the county every day to work but it’s not working in the office that is the challenge – it’s the actual commute in the train or on the car.
With a push from many companies to get people “back to the office” after a swing towards working from home, Professor Paul Ryan, an academic in the business school in Trinity College, says that the frustrations around commuting are the greatest concerns of people caught in that scenario.
“People don’t mind returning to the office … but don’t want to return to the train,” said Paul Ryan when speaking in the Portlaoise Enterprise Centre this Monday morning as he presented his report ‘Remote and Hybrid Working for Knowledge Workers in County Laois’. He was assisted by John Whelan in researching and compiling the report.
“It’s the return to the car, trying to find parking, waiting for the train, getting a seat, the Luas … that’s where the pain is.”
In a wide-ranging discussion, he said that there is a “misconception” that “innovation happens when colleagues are having a coffee together”.
“Workplaces can often be more distracting than innovative.”
While working hubs have increased around the country, the majority of remote working is done from home.
He said his studies have found little evidence of large scale relocation of people from the likes of Dublin to Laois – instead people are commuting less.
Remote working has been a “reorganisation of labour”.
He referenced a report by Leitrim County Council which is aiming to attract 1,300 remote workers to Carrick on Shannon, a highly ambitious target.
He also said that a management attitude across the board of “can’t trust to work from home” is “1950s management”.
And he added that a similar UK report found that improved management and communication is a key element of a successful working from home
