Denis O’Brien’s criticism of hybrid working arrangements have been described as ill-informed and out of touch by workers at a Siptu conference in Galway who themselves split their time between home and the office.
Both public and private sector workers disputed Mr O’Brien’s characterisation of hybrid working as a problem, contending the flexibility involved benefits both management and staff.
“How can people learn, share and solve problems, and improve outcomes [working at home]? Never mind the long-term potential mental health issues. Young people isolated at home will have their learning curtailed because of a lack of human interaction,” Mr O’Brien told a conference on Tuesday.
Ciarán McKenna, an administrator in DCU where he helped negotiate the university’s current working arrangements on behalf of Siptu members, said the three day on-site requirement agreed after the college had initially sought four has helped boost productivity thanks to the extra flexibility given to staff.
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“Maybe he is looking at things from a more strategic perspective but at an operational one, the hybrid system works well,” said Mr McKenna.
“Certainly in our case, if the work wasn’t getting done the students don’t get their exam results or other services and everyone would hear about that quickly enough.”
Mr McKenna travels from Drogheda and said a large number of his colleagues live substantial distances away from DCU because of the cost of housing in Dublin.
“So hybrid working is a red hot issue for the staff. If you were to tell them they need to be back in five days, I think Liveline would have a busy afternoon on its hands.”
Ali Curtis says the hybrid working policy in the major insurance company office she works in in Dublin city centre is always a big talking point for the staff she represents.
On days she travels from her home in Rush, she says, “I’d be leaving the house at half-six in the morning to start work at eight o’clock. That’s an hour and a half out of my morning when I could effectively just start work at home bang on eight o’clock.
“It affects your mental health. You’ve built your life around your hybrid working and increasing office days is frustrating because it is absolutely not going to be in any way more productive or efficient for staff.
“We gone from a day a month or a day a week to two days a week and now more than 50 per cent of the time in the office and you definitely feel the effects.”
Lauren O’Rourke works for the National Transport Authority, which recently moved to Smithfield. She commutes to work by bike and often spends more than the required to two days in the office herself but she says it is a much bigger issue for many other staff members.
“We have someone who started with us recently and he lives in Limerick, that would be a two and a half hour commute, there are two people on my team who live in Northern Ireland, Banbridge and Belfast,” says Ms O’Rourke who is also a Siptu rep.
“Even people in Dublin not having to come in every day, though, takes the pressure off the transport system and it also just takes pressure off of people, especially women with young families.
“With the hybrid model, you still get to meet people, to collaborate and I think there are benefits for the employer, like fewer sick days.
“There’s no suggestion the policy will change at the NTA but people do worry about it and comments like the Denis O’Brien’s just feed that fire.”
