Over one fifth of organisations (21 per cent) believe they will see a full return to the workplace in the next three months, according to the findings of a recent survey conducted by Ibec.
The research found 28 per cent of organisations said they will return to onsite working in line with Government advice and/or the finalisation of the vaccine rollout, while 29 per cent said they expect to be back in the office in September.
Ibec, the Irish businesses representative group, published the results of the survey on Monday, calling for greater clarity from the Government as to when organisations can safely return to the workplace.
Just under three quarters of respondents said they have adopted some form of hybrid working arrangements over the last year, while 20 per cent said all of their employees are now working remotely.
In the long-term, 70 per cent of organisations said they plan to adopt new ways of working to facilitate flexibility, and 55 per cent said they would place a greater focus on employee output rather than attendance.
Commenting on the survey results, Ibec CEO Danny McCoy said: "If Government guidelines provide for it, it seems likely that 78 per cent of respondent organisations could be returned to the workplace by September of this year.
"In recent years we have witnessed emerging trends towards more flexible and remote working. Our survey results confirm that Covid has accelerated this trend."
"Clarity from Government on the timing of graduated workplace reopening is now key for companies in order to reignite collaboration, culture and confidence in their workforce.
"The Government’s roadmap must be aligned with an ongoing review of reopening timelines that reflects the risk reduction that the vaccine programme is delivering. This means a potential earlier gradual return to workplaces than the previously flagged expected return time of September," Mr McCoy added.
