Broadening your horizons: how remote work is allowing employees to live further afield

The pandemic has had what looks like a permanent impact on the world of work by forcing the introduction of remote working. Now that the crisis is over, many are still working from home or have a hybrid arrangement where they visit the office only on a limited number of days.

This change has had a huge impact on many people across the country who no longer have to commute for hours a day and it opened up the option of moving further away from their employer’s physical location.

According to Finian Murphy, marketing director of marketing communications company Core, over the past three years the way of working has changed significantly. “While a significant proposition of the workforce has to be present in their workplace, 45 per cent of workers said they planned to work remotely the same or more in 2023. This expectation resulted in one million people asking themselves if they had to live so close to work.

“This new expectation of workers had already in 2022 led to a 32 per cent decline in the volume of people in Dublin workplaces compared to pre-pandemic levels. This exodus of workers from Dublin’s office landscape has resulted in grey space – surplus office accommodation that is leased but not being used – accounting for about 32 per cent of all available supply, according to Lisney.”

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Fully remote or hybrid working arrangements offered by employers across the country offer several advantages, including an improved work-life balance and reduced travel times

—  Siobhán Finn, CEO of Community Enterprise Association Ireland

The world of work has changed forever, and many people will be considerably better off as a result, says Siobhán Finn, CEO of Community Enterprise Association Ireland. “Fully remote or hybrid working arrangements offered by employers across the country offer several advantages, including an improved work-life balance and reduced travel times (thus reducing individual carbon footprints).”

Decentralising Dublin

Murphy says that 70 per cent of survey respondents believe communities outside main towns and cities will grow because of remote working. “This high level of public expectations predicts there is a willingness or appetite for workers to live away and connect in from communities across the country.”

Marian Finnegan, managing director of estate agency Sherry FitzGerald, says that in the period directly after the pandemic, her firm noticed an uptick in the number of people looking for property further away from where they work. “People usually looked for locations close to their work. However, it’s hard to say with certainty if that has persisted after the pandemic.

“What can be confirmed is that the stock of available properties in counties outside of Dublin has fallen significantly. Is that because demand has gone up, or because housing stock is not being replenished? We haven’t been building enough houses, so it’s not surprising the stock has gone down.”

Challenges

However, there are some key challenges to overcome, even with this opening up of horizons, says Murphy. “Notably, housing is a nationwide problem, and while prices are more affordable beyond the main cities, lack of supply and local planning restrictions remain the key barriers to people fulfilling their connected country lifestyle.

Many workers in a position to work remotely are part of young families and moving a family out of school or social supports in an area can also be a barrier to making the move

—  Finian Murphy, marketing director, Core

“A further infrastructure challenge is transport links. While the likes of the Cork-to-Dublin train is populated by early morning commuters, many workers struggle to figure out the transport logistics of hybrid working. Most organisations have settled on a balance between remote and in-person attendance. Allowing for culture-building and collaboration, the office remains a centre for organisations to bring people together two to three days a week.

“Lastly, many workers in a position to work remotely (tech or service employees), are part of young families and moving a family out of school or social supports in an area can also be a barrier to making the move.”

Where has benefited?

The increase in remote working has provided an opportunity for the regeneration of towns and villages across Donegal to accommodate quality employment and residential and social infrastructure to meet the growth ambitions of the county that can have long-term positive impacts on the community, says Daniel McChrystal, senior economic development officer, economic development directorate, Donegal County Council.

“The ‘sense of place’ that is Donegal is more than an idyll,” says McChrystal. “Donegal has benefited from this shift towards remote working, with people either returning to Donegal or choosing Donegal as their destination of choice to work remotely from, demonstrating the unique offering for those who seek to balance an excellent quality of life with the desire for a productive and progressive career.”

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Other areas around the country that have benefited from the shake-up include Dublin commuter towns such as Leixlip and Navan, with Finnegan saying the parts of the country with the most activity and price pressure are Kildare, Wicklow and Meath, “as they are close to Dublin, commutable but a bit more affordable. It’s where the next wave of homes have been built.”

Castlebar, Co Mayo, was named the best place to work from home in Ireland, winning the Switcher.ie Remote Working Index in 2022, for its mix of leisure amenities, fast broadband, 5G mobile coverage and plenty of green space. It was also named the best place for families.

Other notable towns include Skerries, north Co Dublin, for its low crime rates, Longford town for its affordability, and Gorey, Co Wexford, for being the best place to keep fit.