Half of office workers miss socialising with colleagues

MORE than half of office workers miss socialising with their colleagues, according to a survey by Park West business Auxilion.

Survey findings of around 1,000 Irish office workers indicated 53 per cent miss meeting up with colleagues for socialising.

They also miss separation between work life and home life (40%) and their routine (35%). The survey by Auxilion, an IT services and solutions firm, also revealed the biggest challenges facing office workers when working from home.

Lack of motivation (44 per cent) is the biggest challenge for Gen Z and loneliness and isolation (40 per cent) is a struggle for Millennials.

Despite this, just over a fifth of all survey respondents would like to be in the office full time going forward When it comes to the impact of the pandemic, almost two fifths of respondents say it has negatively affected their company culture.

Niamh Cray, Head of People and Talent at Auxilion, said: “Hybrid work is still a new concept and one that many Irish companies still have to figure out in terms of best practice.

Employers have to be mindful that a one-size[1]fits-all approach won’t work, with some thriving at home and others craving a return to the office.

“Organisations need to get the balance and their approach right.

While greater flexibility is a major benefit for people, businesses must ensure that this doesn’t have an impact on the ability of people to be collaborative, interactive and productive – or jeopardise work/life balance.”

Ms Cray said practical tools and well-thought-out strategies are the way forward and “more effective communication tools” or “flexible start times could prove beneficial”.

“Listening to people is also key and understanding their challenges, whilst helping to overcome them, will also help to rejuvenate company culture.

In fact, you could say that these challenges are opportunities to make the employee experience even better than before.”