BUSINESS
Irish people embrace homeworking
10-12-2007
by Emmet Ryan
A new survey by BT Ireland claims that 30 percent of Irish people work from home, far higher than has been found by previous research.
The figures compiled by BT Ireland are based on a sample of 300 people. They differ from previously released figures from the Central Statistics Office, which found that in 2006 around 40,000 people in Ireland worked from home.
The survey, conducted for the RTE series About The House, found that 44 percent of Dubliners work from home either full-time, often or sometimes. The report claimed that 34 percent of people in Limerick work from home, while 32 percent of Corkonians are home workers.
"We did the survey as part of our sponsorship of About The House. We decided to see what people think about working from home," Emer Kennedy, BT Ireland's director of Consumer Services, told ENN.
She said the wider availability of broadband presents more people with the opportunity to work from home. "The increase in broadband availability has given people greater freedom and facilitated their changes."
The survey found that of those that don't work from home, 31 percent claim the main reason is that they have not been offered the opportunity by their employers. Forty percent said they would work from home if they were given the opportunity by their employers.
Kennedy said employers need to change this attitude to see the benefits homeworking can present themselves and the environment.
"You usually get a lot happier employees when they are permitted to work from home. It makes it easier to accommodate their lifestyle," she said. "It also contributes to having less people on the road."
Environmental issues are a concern to Irish people according to the survey which found that 64 percent of Irish people consider themselves to be aware of environmental issues and their personal carbon footprint. Just over a fifth said they are taking measures to reduce their carbon footprint, while 72 percent of respondents said they believe it is important to make their homes as environmentally friendly as possible.
"This latest research is very encouraging and demonstrates that Irish people are becoming increasingly environmentally aware and adapting their lifestyles to reflect this change in attitude," said Kennedy.
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