After 18 long months of remote working, many people are feeling fatigued at the thought of attending yet another virtual meeting or event. Patrick Gallen gives us top tips on how to cope in these virtual settings. Do you find yourself avoiding, cancelling, or rescheduling virtual meetings, virtual coffee or virtual team events? When you do attend such virtual meetings or events, have you noticed that during the meeting you’re not present or focused, and afterwards you’re incredibly tense or tired? These are all potential signs that virtual fatigue has set in and you’re not alone. It is reported that 38% of workers say they’ve experienced virtual fatigue since the start of the pandemic, and anecdotal evidence would suggest that this trend is growing. Virtual fatigue is the feeling of exhaustion that often occurs after attending a series of virtual meetings or other virtual events such as webinars or training. Stanford researchers identify four causes for virtual or ‘zoom fatigue’ and found that not only is it more fatiguing seeing ourselves in real-time, but the cognitive load placed on our brains is much higher in virtual settings. But why does this happen more so than the typical in-office meetings we are used to? Our focus is diminished When we’re at home and in a video call, it’s easier to lose focus or get distracted. We tend to try to do things simultaneously, like answering emails or sending texts while attending a virtual meeting. The home environment also lends itself to other distractions, particularly if we do not have access to a private working space.  It is more difficult to ‘catch up’ In a face-to-face meeting, it is easier to ask clarifying questions, pick up on non-verbal cues, and help the meeting stay on track. In a virtual setting, if we miss something, have people speaking over each other or if there are technological challenges, it becomes more difficult to stay engaged. Looking at a camera is exhausting In a virtual setting that involves cameras, we feel obliged to appear engaged by looking into a camera for extended periods. This can lead to extensive scrutiny of our own performance and appearance which can have negative, long-term impacts on our self-esteem. Now that we know how to identify virtual fatigue it is important to consider how to reduce it with a few handy tips. Meeting structure Keep meetings short and try to limit the number of people present on calls. Where possible, avoid scheduling consecutive video meetings. Don’t forget the real world Take regular and structured breaks during the day from your workspace, and take time outside in fresh air and sunlight. Avoid multitasking Try to be ‘in the here and now’ when engaging in virtual activity. Avoid emails, texts, and external distractions where possible. Turn your camera off If it’s appropriate and you need a break, then turn your camera off – but don’t be tempted to use this as an opportunity to do other things. Instead, use it to really start listening to what people are saying and engage meaningfully Switch up your communication method Is a meeting really required? Would a phone call or email suffice? Think about the most effective communication method for your messaging and how you can get this across. Pay attention to how you’re feeling, and take these steps to prevent fatigue before it becomes a problem. Patrick Gallen is the Head of People and Change Consulting at Grant Thornton.

With the seismic shift to new ways of working, security and the role of the CISO has never been more important. Ross Spelman outlines four key areas a CISO should consider upskilling in to navigate this new landscape. The outbreak of the pandemic and the alarming rise in the number of sophisticated cyberattacks has brought Chief Information Security Officers (CISOs) to the crossroads of disruption and transformation. The acceleration in adoption of new technology has heightened business risk and vulnerabilities. To manage cyber risk better and to strategise for business continuity amidst disruption, the CISO needs to acquire new skills. Establish new and open communication A modern CISO should focus on establishing new and open communication channels and methods to support business enablement. Security by design needs to be an enduring principle for all organisations where trust and transparency will be key. One of the most important skills for a CISO to have in the post-pandemic world is to establish teams that are open and approachable for the business.  Set agenda for qualification of security risk Setting the agenda for the quantification of security risk in financial terms should be a goal of the CISO. This should be directly linked to security investment and measured and reported on a regular basis. Understanding and communicating the value of security investment for the business will significantly help to drive continual improvement and senior executive buy-in. Embrace continual change Embracing continual change is essential for CISOs. The ability to enable the business to evaluate exciting technology innovations in an agile and secure manner could prove decisive for establishing trust. This will be critical from a cultural perspective to change any perception of security as a blocker to that of an enabler for the business. This will move security up the value chain. Enable automation of security control and reporting Automation of security controls and reporting should be central to the objective of any new security initiative that a CISO drives. The days of the perimeter are long gone and this has been reinforced by the pandemic-imposed 'new ways of working'. The result is a shift from technology and data-centric security to a more user-centric security. This will require more sophisticated detective and preventative controls which have begun to emerge through security solutions, leveraging automatioplun, artificial intelligence and machine learning techniques. With the move to more user-centric security, cyber leaders in Ireland need to stay plugged-in to technology developments. Having soft and technical skills in equal measure can help Irish CISOs contain volatility and risk to the business introduced by new ways of working. Ross Spelman is the Cybersecurity Director and Lead at EY.

As Budget 2022 rapidly approaches, which topics will be the most significant? Susan Kilty examines four critical areas that will be essential to creating substantial and sustainable economic growth. Budget 2022 will be set against an ongoing backdrop of significant economic, political and societal uncertainty. In addition to the continuing fallout from COVID-19, the unprecedented challenges we face include climate change, housing, healthcare, international tax reform as well as the scale of Ireland’s fiscal indebtedness, one of the highest in the developed world. But there are many positives that we should account for: the success of Ireland's vaccine programme, a rebound in economic growth, consumer spending and jobs increasing while exports continue to power ahead. Our economy is now firmly in recovery mode. This Budget will be an opportunity to set Ireland on a path to sustainable recovery and growth as Irish businesses seek to restart and recover, while investing in the things that matter for society. There are opportunities to use tax policy in new ways to support investment in targeted areas. Aside from macro issues such as housing and health, there are four critical areas Budget 2022 should focus on to put our economy on a sound financial and sustainable footing to create real growth and jobs. 1. The domestic economy Given that the Budget is a tool that impacts society at large, but is at its core a fiscal plan, we look first at the economic background. The State has borrowed €34 billion to date in additional funding to help us deal with the impact of COVID-19 and ancillary costs. The Government's Summer Economic Statement envisages big deficits right through to 2025, culminating in a budget deficit of €7.4 billion in 2025 (currently estimated to be €20 billion for 2021). Consequently, our national debt is expected to be €282 billion by 2025. Stabilising our national balance sheet will not be easy. We will need our economic growth rate to exceed our national debt interest rate to have a chance at reducing the deficit in the short-term and the overall balance outstanding in the long-term. It is welcome that the Minister has already indicated that “the forthcoming Budget will be the first step in a two-part budget to reduce the deficit”. We need to balance support and investment to the multinational sectors with support for the backbone to our economy, our SMEs and family businesses, to help with their recovery and renewal. Any tax incentives need to be fit for purpose and targeted as a result. 2. International tax reform and FDI One of the only bright points on an otherwise bleak economic tax outlook in the last 18 months was the continued strong performance of multinationals that export goods and services from Ireland. Certain sectors such as pharmaceuticals, technology and manufacturing of high-value goods have bolstered corporate tax receipts and maintained high-quality employment that supported strong personal tax income receipts for the country. This demonstrates the reliance that we place on foreign direct investment to support a range of tax streams both directly and indirectly. This is against a backdrop of international tax reform, led by the OECD, which threatens Ireland's ability to compete for FDI using our tax system. This international corporate tax reform could not only impact our tax take from corporations, but also the PAYE that is supported by multinational corporations (MNCs) into the future. Ireland's position is clear in response to this threat – it will work alongside the OECD in reaching a global solution to the question of global tax reform, but it wants recognition that tax needs to be a lever available for small, open economies that cannot otherwise compete with bigger countries. Our 12.5% corporate tax rate is a cornerstone of our economy. We want fair tax competition, where the interests of small open economies and not just those of large market jurisdictions are taken into account. 3. Digital skills Digitalising and upskilling Ireland is a national objective and Budget 2022 is a key opportunity to continue to support this journey. Many companies are digitising their businesses and people will require new skills to work in this new environment. The Government should continue investing in those skills by providing support to allow people to retrain and to assist employers to provide training for their employees. This would also help improve our competitiveness as a country. With more people working regionally post COVID-19, adequate infrastructure is crucial. Continuing the roll-out of broadband to all parts of the country will be critical. Additional tax credits and capital allowances for people working remotely would also be beneficial to support the digital and the green economy as well as tax supports for the development of regional hubs to create shared office spaces. 4. Boosting the 'green' recovery The Climate Action and Low Carbon Development (Amendment) Act 2021 introduced earlier this year charts our path to carbon neutrality by 2050 and is the most ambitious of any developed economy. Climate change is one of the greatest challenges of our generation, requiring wholescale transformation of every sector of our economy, unprecedented innovation and committed leadership. Tax policy can play a major role, not only by influencing behavioural change towards a sustainable economy (i.e., changing heating, transport and construction models, purchasing habits and packaging as we move towards a net-zero economy), but also by encouraging investment and creating jobs in the right areas while boosting a greener economic recovery. Susan Kilty is a the Head of Tax in PwC.

The Irish Government’s Housing for All plan is an ambitious document that seeks to address the challenges faced across the Irish housing sector. Jim Clery and and Carmel Logan explain the key goals of the plan and discuss how effective they will be. On 2 September 2021, the Government released its Housing for All plan – a comprehensive document that accepts the current challenges across the housing sector and sets out a roadmap for the transformation of Ireland’s housing system over the next 10 years. The plan is influenced by the overall objective that everyone in Ireland should have access to sustainable, good quality housing to purchase or rent at an affordable price in the right location. In total, Housing for All contains 213 actions under four pathways aimed at achieving the following objectives: Supporting homeownership and increasing affordability; Eradicating homelessness, increasing social housing delivery and supporting social inclusion; Increasing new housing supply; and Addressing vacancy and efficient use of existing stock. The breadth of these actions is noteworthy, encompassing areas across the whole sector from proposed changes to planning law and regulations to significantly increasing the role and responsibilities of local authorities, and tax measures aimed at improving affordability and incentivising housing supply. Moreover, all actions are set in a sustainable context and align with Ireland’s commitments under the climate change agenda. The ambitious scale of the plan will see a huge expansion of the State’s role in the Irish housing market. That is reflected in the investment the State has committed to its success – an average of €4 billion per annum to 2030. Importantly, the document has been prepared with a clear view of the need for collaboration, both across Government departments and between the public and private sectors, in achieving the objectives and resolving Ireland’s housing crisis. In addition, the plan acknowledges the need for the country’s housing market to meet demand across various tenures, including private rental accommodation as well as social, affordable, and private ownership housing. The implicit recognition that there is no ‘silver bullet’ to solving Ireland’s housing crisis – that different tenures require different models and that a holistic approach is required to overcome this challenge – is welcome. The publication of the Housing for All plan is, without doubt, a hugely significant first step in addressing the issues present in Ireland’s housing market. However, given the broad scope of the plan’s objectives and the ambitious targets it sets, it is understandable that specific detail regarding various aspects of the plan remains, at present, unclear. Jim Clery is Partner & Head of Real Estate at KPMG. Carmel Logan is Partner at KPMG. You can read more about this topic at KPMG.

Shyness can strike at any time, especially when you’re in a new situation with new people, such as at networking events. Jean Evans explains 12 ways you can overcome your shyness and make the most of any networking opportunity. Networking can be intimidating even for the most seasoned networkers. Some days you just aren’t feeling great, aren’t in the mood, but you’ve got a commitment or networking meeting to attend. It’s more daunting when in a face-to-face environment, but the anxiety stills exist for online networking, especially if you’re shy. Here are 12 ways to overcome that feeling of dread, fear, panic, and sheer overwhelm when you have a networking event to attend. 1. Find a wing-person Find someone to attend your first events with you as they’ll give you that moral support to get you going. Let them know that you feel a bit shy and ask if they can introduce you to some people to make networking easier. However, don’t make the mistake of sticking with just one person. Set yourself a target of speaking to two or three new people at an event. Be realistic with targets, but do set a goal for yourself so you have a metric to measure your success. 2. Arrive early Whether you are networking online or in person, arriving early is an easy strategy to implement. If you arrive and people are actively engaged in a group conversation, it will be tough to ‘break in’ and join them if you are shy. By arriving early, you can welcome people into the room, which will help break the ice for the other person. 3. Smile The best-dressed person in the room is always smiling. Smiling can put you at ease, relax your body language, and put the people arriving after you at ease too. 4. Ask questions For shy people, launching into a speech or sharing an opinion can seem daunting and intimidating. Instead, try asking questions when you are in the group. It shows that you are interested in other people. You are then in the position of listening to the answer, and listening is easier than talking – particularly for shy people or introverts. 5. Be authentic If you are shy or a shy introvert, do not try to be an extrovert. If you are trying to be someone you are not, you’ll end up completely depleted of energy and resources. 6. Be prepared Prepare yourself with some questions and talking points. Take the time to gauge the conversation and get your bearings before contributing. A contribution that doesn’t make sense can end the flow of a conversation, which isn’t how you want to be remembered. On the other hand, if you actively listen, people will drop crumbs you can use to work into conversations. If you are at a business networking event, have your elevator pitch ready. 7. Reframe your mindset You need to have a positive mindset regarding the outcome of the event or networking meeting you are attending. If you think it will be negative, this will come across in your body language, making this belief a reality. 8. Networking is everywhere People tend to associate networking with formal events, associations, referral meetings and conferences. However, your local book, rowing, cycling and football clubs are all sources for meeting people and engaging in informal networking. Furthermore, having an interest in common provides an instant ice-breaker. 9. Learn names Everyone loves the sound of their name. It’s a good idea to say a person’s name out loud, as it acts as a sense of acknowledgement and inclusion. The person feels noticed, and repetition will help you remember their name. This all adds to your social capital and will stand you in good stead. 10. Embrace your passion When nervous, answer a couple of questions: What do you do? Why do you do what you do? When answering, people often forget about nerves and remember what they are doing and who they are serving. 11. Follow up It’s essential to follow up with the people you meet to ensure that you are seen as credible and trustworthy. It helps build up the future of your relationship. 12. Host A great way to get over your nerves is to act as the host of the event. Welcome people, smile and ask them if they’d like a cup of tea or coffee to make them feel at ease. Be on alert for people who might be standing alone, who arrived late and are feeling a little out of place. If you are the person to break the ice and start a conversation, this will go so far in cementing a solid relationship. There are myriad ways to learn how to network when you are shy. Learning to network will help you confidently develop personal and business relationships, and all of this will help you survive and thrive in business. Jean Evans is a Networking Architect and Founder at NetworkMe.

Being a positive influence on your team doesn’t have to be complicated. Anna O’Flanagan outlines a few actions you can take today to boost your team’s morale while enhancing your own wellbeing. Are you a drain or a radiator on your team? If you identify more with the former, could you be ‘radiating’ more to boost the morale of those around you while also improving your own wellbeing? Giving back – whether by volunteering, helping a neighbour, or simply offering kind words with no expectations – are proven to enhance overall wellbeing. Fill the tank Think about the members of your team as having an emotional tank. When the tank is full, they feel ready and able to engage. However, when their tank has been bled dry due to a mixture of circumstances, they are bound to struggle with motivation and enthusiasm. We can’t change some of the external factors affecting us right now, but let’s focus on what we can influence. Try being a ‘radiator’ and see how it makes you and those around you feel. Here are a few ways to make that happen: Use your active listening skills and properly give colleagues your attention. Use affirming non-verbal communications like smiling and attentive body language when in the office and working over video calls. Give your colleagues honest and specific appreciation and praise. It needs to be genuine, consistent and spontaneous. Don’t wait for a one-to-one meeting – just pick up the phone or pop them an email as soon as you think of it. Provide recognition for work done well and the behaviours that got them there. Remember, work well done is not all about the result. So, even when the team has a perceived failure, acknowledge what they did well in an environment of learning, not blaming. Maybe you are doing these things already, or perhaps you usually do them but have fallen off the wagon a bit recently. It’s important to accept that you won’t always be able to radiate. But, when you can, why not go out there and be someone’s radiator today? It could make be the difference between a colleague struggling and managing. Anna O’Flanagan is Founder and Chief Squirrel at Red Squirrel Team Building.