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Thought Leadership News

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Working from home to stay in 2025?

As some companies pivot back to full-time office work, Mark Fallon examines the sustainability of remote work and its impact on business culture and talent retention The first few months of the year changed the landscape of the professional working week. From the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic up until 2022, office workers were predominantly ‘working from home’ (WFH). Then came the shift to a hybrid working model, with professionals working part-time in the office and part-time at home. Today, in thew fourth quarter (Q4) of 2024 and trending into 2025, the dynamic is changing once again with many companies doing a U-turn on their WFH policies, demanding their employees to return to the office five days a week. Resurfacing culture concerns In 2020, Coopman Search and Selection ran a survey of more than 400 professionals in Ireland about working from home in the first winter of COVID-19. Out of several interesting findings in this survey, the biggest fear from corporations at this time was the ‘lack of collaboration’ and ‘loss of culture’ with employees not being present in the office environment. Fast-forward to Q4 2024 and this concern has come to fruition, with business leaders ‘feeling’ that employees need to be in the office more , as stated by Andy Jassy, CEO of Amazon, in September 2024, “to be better set up to invent, collaborate and be connected to each other”. There is mixed data on the advantages and disadvantages of WFH. Some claim productivity has dropped since its introduction, while employees who benefit from hybrid working feel more empowered, better at balancing personal and professional responsibilities. Flexibility remains key to talent attraction Flexible remote work policies can significantly impact the quality of talent they attract. Companies based in major cities might miss out on top talent by requiring full-time office attendance, as many skilled workers are located outside of the commuter area. Offering hybrid or remote work options can help businesses remain competitive in the talent market. While studies have shown mixed results on productivity, some report up to a 13 percent increase in output from remote workers, though others suggest a drop in collaboration and engagement. Looking ahead to 2025, many large companies are expected to increase mandatory office days, while smaller businesses may stick to hybrid models. Employees unhappy with stricter office requirements will likely seek more flexible employers, giving those companies a chance to secure top talent. Fully remote workers may face more challenges securing roles as the trend shifts toward in-office work. A future of retention and growth As the debate over remote work continues, companies that balance flexibility with in-office collaboration will likely be best positioned to attract top talent and meet employee needs in Ireland for talent attraction and retention. Organisations must carefully assess their policies to foster environments that encourage both individual efficiency and collective creativity, ensuring a sustainable future in the evolving work landscape. Mark Fallon is Director and Co-Founder at Coopman Search and Selection

Oct 18, 2024
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Unlocking workforce potential with AI

AI is reshaping the workforce, blending human creativity with technology. Tim Bergin explores how organisations can leverage generative AI to unlock potential and drive transformation Generative artificial intelligence (Gen AI) may be perceived as a risk to human employment, but it can also be viewed as a catalyst for redefining the contribution of individuals in the professional environment. Increased access to Gen AI is allowing workers to fill capability gaps in creativity, team dynamics and content generation with a new technology-driven assistant. The challenge now lies in encouraging our organisations to embrace the advantages while unlocking the potential for workforce workplace restructuring. Unlocking human potential Gen AI provides the ability to rethink how work is organised at operating model, functional level an team level. How can employers unlock the full potential of their workforce at these levels? Team AI is a proven catalyst for better communication, how we interact with colleagues and customers, and how we collaborate and get work done. For example, virtual and augmented reality allow real-time collaboration with people across the globe, facilitating richer conversations, skill sharing and exposure to other areas of the organisation. According to the EY Workforce Reimaged 2023 survey, there is a 33 percent net positive sentiment of employers and employees who believe Gen AI will boost productivity and new ways of working, and an even greater 44 percent net positive of those who expect the technology to enable greater flexible working. Aside from additional capacity, AI systems can provide insights into team performance, sentiment and connection by tracking and analysing data. This could give employers insight into how their team is feeling through survey feedback. This can help promote a more productive, collaborative environment, enabling employers to proactively address employee issues. Organisation The adoption of AI at an organisational level can revolutionise current ways of working from front-line customer-facing functions, to operations and corporate functions such as finance and HR. The transformative impact can be seen on all fronts, demonstrating the potential to improve not only efficiency and effectiveness but also employee experience. For example, using Gen AI to predict consumer needs can help organisations refine their stock systems and supply chain to ensure products are ready at the point of need, rather than stockpiling and incurring unnecessary storage costs. This use case can also free up time for consumer-facing staff to have more considered conversations with their customers about potential future purchasing needs, and demonstrates the rounded positive impact we can expect to see if Gen AI is used responsibly, and thoughtful consideration is given to the workforce impact and opportunity. It is clear from a team and organisational perspective that AI’s role is pivotal in the evolution of the workforce and the increasing requirement for upskilling and reskilling. Success lies in the coming together of emerging technologies and vital human interventions; releasing the power of technology while emphasising the importance of what makes work human. Collaborative partnership While AI's rapid proliferation might trigger fear of unprecedented changes in the working environment, organisations must remember that by embracing AI and investing in the upskilling of their workforce, they are fostering a collaborative partnership between human creativity and artificial intelligence. Tim Bergin is Partner of People Consulting at EY 

Oct 11, 2024
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Personal Impact
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“Age discrimination is often under-represented in DE&I discussions”

Older professionals have much to offer in today’s multigenerational workplace, but many continue to experience the ill effects of negative attitudes and bias As Honorary Treasurer and Interim Chair of Age Action Ireland, Colm Nagle, FCA, continues to apply the experience honed over the course of a 45-year career begun in 1979 when he joined Stokes Kennedy Crowley as a trainee. The longest-serving director of Age Action Ireland, the national advocacy organisation for older people and ageing in Ireland, Nagle is proud of his ongoing contribution to its work, in particular its annual Positive Ageing Week. Kicking off this year on 30 September and continuing through the first week of October, Positive Ageing Week (PAW) celebrates the contributions of older people and promotes their agency. As the dust settles on another successful PAW, which this year featured over 500 events around the country, Nagle is turning his attention to other priorities on the agenda of Age Action Ireland, which has published two annual State of Ageing reports since 2022, highlighting the reality of growing older in Ireland. “Age discrimination is often under-represented in discussions of diversity, equity and inclusion, and, in the workplace, ‘age’ is often left out of company’s DE&I policies and initiatives,” Nagle says. “So far in our culture, we just have not had the same conversations and awareness-raising around ageism that we have had around other forms of discrimination. People haven’t learned to stop and think about ageing or question implicit beliefs they might have internalised.”  The World Health Organisation’s Global Report on Ageism, published in 2021, found ageism to be a prevalent and serious form of discrimination.  “The report demonstrated that we come to accept ageist beliefs from as young as four years old, and that these beliefs – about ourselves and others – can have seriously negative consequences, including worse health outcomes,” Nagle says.  There is, he adds, evidence suggesting that ageism is especially sharply felt in the labour field.  “Age Action’s ‘Are We Ageist’ poll found that unemployed persons were most likely to report recently experiencing age discrimination,” Nagle says. “Ageism is also known to interact with and compound other forms of discrimination like misogyny, classism or ableism, and so, to effectively eliminate these kinds of discrimination, we must also be aware of what ageism is and how it works.” A priority for Age Action is to involve everyone in our society in the project of reframing ageing and changing how we think, act, and feel about older persons.  Rethinking mandatory retirement age Many people now are living more active lives well into retirement age and want to defer full retirement for as long as possible.  “Fundamental to all of us continuing to have choice and control over our employment as we age is the existence of mandatory retirement clauses in contracts,” Nagle says. “Currently, our Equality Acts make an explicit exemption that allows for this kind of age discrimination, so that people can be forced to leave their jobs for no other reason than that they have reached a certain age. This is based on harmful stereotypes of older persons, that deny their skills and capacity.” Mandatory retirement implies that in older age, we are all the same, Nagle says. “It is deeply concerning that through our laws, the State is currently legitimising these kinds of ageist beliefs. It forces older persons out of workplaces and thus contributes to social exclusion,” he says.  “At Age Action, we have spoken to people who, 10 or 20 years on, are still angry and hurt by having been forced to retire. “We have long campaigned for the abolition of mandatory retirement and, in April, we made our case before the Oireachtas Committee on Employment, which subsequently recommended it be abolished. “It has already been outlawed in Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the US, in some cases for decades, and their labour markets are still functional and productive.” Negative bias and discrimination Well before retirement age, professionals can feel the negative effects of unhelpful biases as they mature through their careers. Seventy-five percent of respondents in the most recent Workplace Equality Study published by Matrix Recruitment identified ageism as an issue in today’s workplace. More than two-thirds, meanwhile, said workers over the age of 50 have fewer promotional opportunities then their younger colleagues, up 19 percent points on the previous year’s findings.   Commenting on the findings, Kieran McKeown, Managing Director of Matrix Recruitment, said they were “hugely disappointing.” “There is a widespread view that professionals aged over 50 have fewer promotional opportunities than their younger colleagues, but the reality is actually quite the opposite,” McKeown says.   “On a more positive note, the majority of respondents surveyed (89%) agreed that people over the age of 50 have as much to contribute to the workplace as those under 40, and this is an opinion we, at Matrix Recruitment agree with, given the calibre of the candidates we speak to on a daily basis in this age group.”  Despite this, McKeown believes older and more experienced professionals in the Irish market remain something of an “untapped talent pool.” “It is quite a complex issue but there appears to be an unconscious bias against older candidates and a poor understanding of, or appreciation for, what they can bring to a workplace,” he says.  “There is a view – a misguided one, in my opinion – that if you are older, you are less likely than your younger peers to be considered capable, adaptable or willing to embrace something new. “We are living in a digital age in which transformation is constant. Given that half of our respondents were of the view that more mature candidates may not have ‘21st century’ IT and digitalisation skills, it is likely that employers think the same way.   “In my experience, the over-50s are highly skilled and actively embrace technological change. Together with their years of experience, this is a group whose contribution to the workplace cannot be underestimated.  “Of course, how people in their 50s are perceived varies greatly from person to person but populations are aging, working lives are lengthening and graduates are joining the workforce later – so 50 is young.” The Matrix Recruitment Workplace Equality Study found that mature workers were considered to have better life skills and those aged over 50 were also rated higher when it came to mentoring and guiding colleagues.  “Forty-eight percent of our respondents consider mature employees to be more reliable workers than their younger cohorts, who statistically are more likely to job hop,” McKeown says.  “Employers find that there are lower staff attrition rates with more mature workers who also have strong interpersonal skills and an equally strong work ethic. And of course, they bring to the workplace years of life experience alongside the expertise they have built up in other roles.” The biggest challenges facing older candidates in today’s job market often “come from within,” McKeown says.  “Losing confidence, feeling they are too old to move job or upskill – or simply not knowing how to go about driving change – are all barriers we see among candidates in this age group,” he says.  “I would encourage anyone considering a career or job move to speak to a recruitment expert.  We can help identify any gaps in their skill set or job spec and help them recognise and promote their transferrable skills.  “There are also lots of tools, such as LinkedIn, which can help individuals stay on top of industry trends and grow their network and connections.  “At Matrix Recruitment we have supported and placed dozens of candidates over the age of 50, including those looking for a new job, a different career or re-entering the workforce after many years. My advice is to get off that fence, speak to an expert and go for it!” Liberation from the rat race For Pat Barker, FCA, sitting on the fence has never been an option. A trailblazer for women in the profession, Barker sat her accounting exams in 1973, becoming only the 20th female Chartered Accountant in Ireland. “I didn’t have a master plan, but seemed to rocket from one opportunity to another,” she says now.   “Generally, I was offered chances and I probably said ‘yes’ to too many and found myself active all the time. Luckily, I am fit and healthy and had lots of energy, and I reflect back on a very packed work and non-work life.”  Barker served her articles with Stokes Bros & Pim in Dublin and then relocated to the UK for a time, becoming Partner with an accounting firm in Manchester and working at Manchester University as a Principal Lecturer.  She was appointed Lecturer at Dublin City University in 1980 and progressed to Senior Lecturer, Associate Dean of the Business School and Vice-President, Academic. Today, Barker continues to lecture in business ethics at DCU. “When you get older, you are liberated from the competition of your career trajectory and you must then decide, ‘What am I going to do now? Am I going to take up golf and play bridge and drink Chardonnay in the afternoon?” she says. “I thought about that and decided it wasn’t for me and the joy for me in continuing to lecture and to serve on boards is that I no longer feel the need to prove myself through my work. “I do not want to lose my capacity – my skills – as a Chartered Accountant. I do not want to stop applying these skills. I want to continue learning about what interests me, and to apply what I learn in the work I do. “That professional decision-making and problem-solving part of me continues to matter enormously to me and, these days, it is enhanced by an ethical overview. Continuing to work when you are older and out of the rat race is a kind of liberation.” Benefits of a multigenerational workforce With an ageing population, longer life expectancy and delayed retirement, workplaces in Ireland are becoming increasingly multigenerational, says Dee France, Wellbeing Lead with Thrive, Chartered Accountants Ireland’s wellbeing hub.  “Fostering a positive age culture is crucial to the Irish workforce and its future, but the importance and value of older employees in their workplace can be seriously overlooked,” France says. “An ageing workforce isn’t a burden; it is an opportunity and there are many business benefits to having a multigenerational workforce.  “With age comes a wealth of experience and with skill and labour shortages reported, employers should not overlook older employees but focus instead on actively retaining and retraining them to address growing talent shortages.” As France sees it, older workers bring an abundance of knowledge, experience and skills that can be invaluable to employers.  “Longer periods in the working environment allow employees to acquire and cultivate significant soft skills that are often so important and beneficial to both the company and younger employees – interpersonal and communication skills, for example, problem-solving and critical thinking along with other leadership qualities and abilities,” she says. Supporting and advocating for age-inclusivity By supporting and advocating for an age-inclusive environment, employers can retain these important qualities in teams, ensure knowledge transfer and provide meaningful and symbiotic mentorship opportunities.  “Failure to address the needs of an ageing workforce is a common issue when employers look to implement supportive work practices,” France says. “In this digital era, there can be preconceived notions and age-related assumptions surrounding older workers, such as their ability to embrace digital transformation, reluctance to adopt new processes and ways of working, or difficulty shifting to changes in company culture. “Many employers can also overlook the importance of providing flexible working arrangements for older employees, making it easier for them to remain in the workforce.”  It is crucial to implement policies that allow accommodations for an ageing workforce for part-time work, job-sharing or remote working, France says. “I would also advise considering phased retirement plans that allow employees to reduce their working hours gradually while maintaining a connection to the workforce.  “This approach can improve retention and reduce stress, allowing employees to continue contributing to the business for longer.” Supporting older workers: advice for employers  Embracing age inclusivity is not just a social matter, it is a business matter too, writes Dee France.  As Ireland’s demographics evolve, businesses must adapt and embrace the potential an age-diverse workforce can unlock. Creating a culture of belonging to foster equitable, inclusive and thriving workplaces that value diversity, including age diversity, is key to supporting a growing workforce.  Employers should actively promote age-friendly policies, avoid reinforcing stereotypes and encourage intergenerational collaboration by fostering mentorship programs that allow employees to share their generational knowledge, creating a mutually beneficial learning environment. Employers should also develop and prioritise well-being initiatives that support an ageing workforce.  Offering health insurance benefits, wellness programs and access to resources like mental health support or fitness programs can significantly improve employees’ quality of life.  Additional tailoring of benefits such as regular health check-ins and adjusting job demands to accommodate any limitations an individual may have, can help ensure that employees can continue working comfortably. Supporting the well-being of older workers through tailored policies on health, flexibility and career development can help them stay engaged and productive, ultimately benefiting the wider organisation.  Positive ageing initiatives can also help reduce turnover, increase job satisfaction and enhance loyalty within the organisation. Positive ageing in the Irish workforce is not just a trend but a critical component of building a resilient, productive and inclusive workplace.  Employers must recognise the value of older employees and take proactive steps to support them.  By addressing common pitfalls and adopting best practices, employers can create a work environment in which workers aged over 55 feel valued, supported and empowered to continue contributing to the success of the organisation. Dee France is Wellbeing Lead with Thrive, Chartered Accountants Ireland’s dedicated wellbeing hub  

Oct 09, 2024
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