The Future of Hybrid Work in Ireland’s Tech Sector
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by Michael Lantry
IT Jobs and Recruitment Insights
The way we worked changed forever when Covid arrived and pushed us all into our homes. If you were to survey people and ask them what was the biggest change to the tech industry in the last five years, most would probably guess it was AI. I disagree. For me, the biggest disruption has been the way we work.
Since Covid, there has been a very cautious and slow return to the office. It was slow to begin with, then picked up pace in 2023 and 2024. Many employers were slow to return to the office as they were initially seeing big productivity gains from their remote workers. I think part of the reason that employers have been more confident in bringing people back into the office in 2024 is that the heat has gone out of the tech talent market. Right after Covid there was such a hiring surge, that employees had all the power. Employers were afraid to lose people so were reluctant to increase the number of office days.
That dynamic shifted throughout 2023 and continued in 2024. Most notably, we have seen high profile announcements like Amazon bringing their staff back five days a week since January 2025. Another reason is that the gloss of remote working wore off as employers started to see company culture and collaboration suffering from remote working, as well as increased isolation.
During 2022 and 2023, many employers hesitated to bring employees back to the office, uncertain about the best way to structure the workspace and maximize productivity. It felt like navigating in the dark, with companies cautiously testing the waters, unsure of the right approach and wary of making missteps.
So where are we now and what's the future going to look like?
2024 was a year showing a clear trend of going back into the office more and more. Anyone living in Dublin would have felt this if they were commuting into the office on a Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday especially. The traffic and public transport showing a tangible increase. In August 2024 Linkedin published data on hybrid and remote working job opportunities across their network in Ireland. They found that Ireland was second in Europe for job opportunities offering hybrid working, at 37.7%, and remote working at 8.4%. But the number of jobs offering flexibility was down, year on year, with hybrid roles down 10.5% and remote down 7.7%.
There is a disconnect between what employers are offering and what candidates would like. On Indeed’s platform in 2024, the number of applicants to tech jobs in Ireland for fully remote roles vastly outstriped that of fully onsite and also hybrid. So the demand for these roles is high, but the number of these roles is decreasing.
So while we have seen more and more people going back into the office, most are still working in a hybrid fashion. With two days or three days a week onsite being the most popular model.
Why are we seeing this disconnect between employers and employees preferences?
My opinion is that employers are seeing the detrimental effects a lack of collaboration is having on their teams from remote working. What I mean by this is that things are happening much more slowly. Decisions are made when a video call is set up and everyone is free to join it rather than a quick chat on the office floor and move on. Weaker collaboration also means that conflicts aren't sorted out quickly enough as a Manager may wish to wait to have a difficult conversation face to face. Training is harder remotely and it's harder to coach and mentor more junior employees. All of this adds up to a less competitive team, in my view.
However, remote working does allow for more concentration and reduced distractions from co-workers in the office. Granted, if at home with distractions from family or housemates, you may still not get any more opportunity to concentrate than being in the office. For tasks that require focus, working at home could be an ideal environment. It's also very nice to avoid a commute.
If we were to look at the trend, it does suggest that we will continue to work together in a hybrid way in 2025. Hybrid working is attractive as it balances the need for flexibility, collaboration and productivity. The office days create the opportunity for teams to grow closer together and have strong social connections. The ability to work from home also allows for the creation of a better balance between productivity and personal life. The hybrid model also allows for stronger career development as there are better opportunities for mentorship, training and learning.
One potential counter trend that might happen is that as more and more high profile employers may bring their staff back into the office five days a week, other employers will grow in confidence to implement the same policies. This may mean that the % of hybrid working opportunities decreases further. This then further normalises fully onsite work.
However, the advantages of giving your employee’s greater work-life balance and flexibility when working remotely are very real and attractive. Employees want to be able to work flexibly and be at home for a part of their week.
The key question is, are the advantages gained from offering flexible working with a work from home policy strong enough to resist the advantages gained from having people back in the office full time? This is the battle that we will see play out in 2025.
