Survey finds majority of remote workers ‘unhappy’ with home office

A recent survey by Chadwicks has revealed that the majority of remote workers are unhappy with their home office set-up.

The builders' merchants’ company surveyed 928 people as part of their research. The findings will be of interest to Irish employers, if not a little concerning.

Below, we look at the key statistics as well as employer responsibilities regarding remote workers.

Key findings: The need for better workstations

The most startling finding is that 77% of remote workers are unhappy with their work from home set-up. This however is likely influenced by another finding ─ only one in five have a dedicated workspace.

Dig a little deeper into “workspaces” and 25% said they use a spare room, 17% work from their kitchen, and 11% from their bedroom. 2% of remote workers are even working from their garden shed…

While many of those surveyed have been working from home since the first national lockdown, 56% say they still haven’t received the right office equipment. To compensate, 72% have resorted to using household items to help with their office set-up:

• 49% work at their kitchen table.
• 53% use a dining room chair instead of a work chair.
• 34% use books to prop up their computer.

These are hardly inspiring statistics…

But, as remote working looks set to continue, 65% of workers surveyed said they hope to design a dedicated home office space at some stage this year.

Finally, 1 in 4 remote workers said they enjoyed working from home but 50% would like to work between home and the office i.e., hybrid working.

Guide: Remote working

Employer responsibilities and moving forward

‘Making Remote Work’, the country’s new National Remote Work Strategy, will give employees the right to request remote work before the end of 2021.

Currently, Ireland’s health & safety legislation requires employers to ensure employee safety as far as is reasonably practicable while they’re at work.

However, if employees are working from home, the home becomes a workplace. So, you must therefore take action to ensure their home office is safe to work in. To make sure you account for every consideration, download our free guide, ‘Health & Safety checklist for employees working from home’. You can also watch our useful video which lists the key remote working health & safety considerations.

Need our help with your remote working issues?

If you need instant advice on any remote working issue, Peninsula is here to help.

To speak to a HR expert now, call 0818 923 923.