Future of Work IE - Q4 2021

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Q4 2021 | A promotional supplement distributed on behalf of Mediaplanet, which takes sole responsibility for its content

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Future of Work

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How can digital transformation help Ireland embrace change? ~Una Fitzpatrick, Director, Technology Ireland

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Four simple steps to help regain control of your mental wellbeing ~Carmen Bryce, Communications and Fundraising Manager, Mental Health Ireland

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Life after COVID-19: A new era of working for Ireland The pandemic has given us all the opportunity to reflect on the type of society and economy we want.

One of the areas it has changed our perspective on is how and more importantly, where we work.

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s the COVID-19 pandemic took hold, millions of people and businesses around the world moved from the office to remote working overnight.

This shift might have taken decades if it had been planned. Instead, it took days.

Leo Varadkar TD Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment

Finding the new normal I believe that when the pandemic is over, many of us will return to the office, but I hope things will never be the same again. Video-conferencing will be more common and travelling for work much less so. Most of us will be blended workers, working sometimes from the office and other times from home, a hub or on the go.

On balance these will be changes for the better. Less commuting, more time for family and leisure, fewer greenhouse gas emissions and cleaner air will be among the benefits. New job opportunities will be created for people who want to live in rural Ireland, people with disabilities and people with caring responsibilities. Small towns and villages will see new investment, greater footfall and spend.

However, as with any opportunity, there are challenges.

We do not want to turn our homes into workplaces where we are always on. Talented people can work from anywhere in the world so we need to ensure Irish cities and towns are attractive places to live and work and provide an eco-system that will attract and retain talented and highly qualified people. We want to spread jobs more evenly

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across the country, but we do not want to lose them to abroad. We want our city centres to remain vibrant places.

So, we have a plan to mitigate these challenges.

Among the main actions we are taking are: • Leading by example by mandating that home and remote working should be the norm for 20% of public sector employees.

• Modernising the treatment of remote working for the purposes of tax and expenditure in the most recent Budget, and subsequent budgets.

• Mapping and investing in a network of remote working hubs across Ireland.

• Legislating for the right to request remote working.

• Implementing a code of practice for the right to disconnect.

• Doing what we can to accelerate the provision of highspeed broadband to all parts of Ireland.

The world of work has changed forever. Through the actions above, we will ensure remote work is an integral part of building a new and better future.

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Project Manager: Cian Raftery cian.raftery@mediaplanet.com Business Development Manager: Lucy Harris Managing Director: Alex Williams Head of Ireland: Ross Bannatyne Head of Production: Kirsty Elliott Designer: Thomas Kent Design & Content Assistant: Aimee Rayment Digital Manager: Harvey O’Donnell Paid Media Manager: Jonni Asfaha Social & Web Editor: Henry Phillips Digital Assistant: Carolina Galbraith Duarte All images supplied by Gettyimages, unless otherwise specified

Transform with digital to empower your people Learn more at www.fujitsu.com/global/uvance 02

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Delivering a sustainable world through the future of work We are in the midst of a major realignment of how and where we spend our working week. Understanding and embracing this technology-enabled shift will be essential to organisational success.

L Tony O’Malley CEO, Fujitsu Ireland

Veronica Rahneberg Sales and Marketing Director, Fujitsu Ireland

ife has changed for office-based workers over the last 18 months. For many, the ‘normal’ way of working simply wasn’t working and the balance of life and work was off kilter. People are looking to business leaders to create something new that addresses this imbalance while still delivering on the organisational goals that we all strive for.

The enforced remote or hybrid experiment has seen employees enjoy increased autonomy and express their preferences about how they manage their work and life commitments. Flexibility is required. Companies that don’t offer flexibility will struggle to recruit and retain talent in the hugely competitive talent market.

Human-centric working Even for those companies built on technology, any change towards remote and hybrid working must be humancentric. By implementing technology in a human-centric way we can create workforces that are more inclusive and sustainable. In the future of work, agility and resilience can be achieved through using the right technology to enhance the employee experience.

As Fujitsu’s Veronica Rahneberg says, with disruption comes opportunity to reshape the future: “The success of the future of work is not about computers, applications and connectivity. Instead, it is about leaders supporting empowered teams to deliver exceptional business results.

Sustainable business transformation Collectively, we need to live and work more sustainably.

Employees and employers want to feel that their company and its values reflect this self-evident truth.

Beyond enfranchising employees, being a responsible business has the benefit of making good business sense.

This aspect of the future of work will rely heavily on fast and effective data. Without this, it will be impossible to accurately measure and manage outputs and outcomes: remote working will rely on outcome-based measurement as opposed to time-based measurement.

“Only by tracking our progress can we be sure that we are making sustainable change to the way we do business.

There is now a real opportunity for business to provide thought leadership in this area through embracing this once in a lifetime shift in how we organise work, our people and how we deliver to our customers.” says Fujitsu Ireland’s CEO, Tony O’Malley.

An accelerated shift to a hybrid working model Organisations that embrace new technology and skills will fare best in the dramatic shift towards a digital workplace.

T Patrick Gallen Partner, People & Change Consulting, Grant Thornton WRITTEN BY Sean Duke

he digital transformation of the workplace, which was once thought futuristic, has become a reality during the COVID-19 pandemic.

During the initial period of the pandemic, most organisations had to undergo a dramatic shift to implement remote working through the adoption of a variety of new technologies and platforms, which accelerated their digital transformation by years.

Adopting hybrid working models Over the past 18-months, there has been a shift in working patterns towards a hybrid model, which was previously unfamiliar territory for the majority. This has forced organisations to advance their digital transformation plans to enable this new way of working.

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“Enabling our teams is about having the right level of customer and employee centricity, a supportive culture and working processes which are enabled by technology.

This is my definition of SMART working – people working in an empowered way being supported by technology.”

The shift towards the hybrid model, which was initially driven by necessity, has accelerated the transformation journey, and become the norm for employees globally. The utilisation of new technologies is no longer a choice, but rather, a business necessity.

The pandemic has changed the way we work, as well as the way we socialise. This has changed our workplace attitudes and resulted in the need for digital transformation of how people work.

The hybrid model, which holds many variations in association with the digital transformation journey, must utilise technological platforms to ensure businesses continues to perform; and that employee experiences in the workplace remain engaging.

Find out more at fujitsu.com/ie/ uvance

Organisational challenges Organisations are facing challenges as they adapt and support the future of the blended workforce, and there is no one-size-fits-all approach when it comes to an organisations’ digital transformation strategy. It is important that leaders lead by example with a clear and transparent vision. This will result in organisations being ready for the next phase of the future of work.

Although the shift towards the hybrid model comes with both positive and negative aspects, the benefits are immense. One of the most important factors in communicating with all members of a hybrid working team is ensuring that information reaches everyone, whenever and wherever they are working.

In order to best reap the rewards of the changes now underway, organisations need to identify how their systems need to evolve to support the acceleration of their digital transformation.

Technological enhancement According to McKinsey, the pandemic has increased the pace of digital transformation by seven years.

The pace of digital transformation is continuing to accelerate as organisations are currently resetting their strategies and ways of working.

Organisations need to adopt technological platforms as required and upskill workers with the skills they need to thrive, not just survive.

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The future of work and talent: new strategies for a changed world The future of work for organisations is a story not yet fully written but there are enough plotlines to point towards a broadly defined first draft.

Barry Winkless CSO and Head of Future of Work Institute, Cpl Group

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hings look vastly different in the world of work. At a global level businesses and governments alike are dealing with the great crises of our time – COVID-19 and the environmental catastrophe.

At a business level, the very essence of what ‘work’ is, is evolving at a rapid rate.

Digital technologies are rewriting the rules of engagement and there are exponential challenges for organisations trying to attract and retain the best talent globally (being popularised as the Great Resignation or Great Evaluation). Whatever lens we look at the future of work through, it suffices to say that it means one thing for organisations: seismic change. As with all change, there is an opportunity for organisations to embrace it and to design for it.

The three future of work pillars As leaders how can we design our organisations to be future fit now? There are 3W’s that really matter - workplace, workforce and worktask when it comes to the future of work.

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• Workplace – Where the work takes place across physical and virtual space.

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• Workforce – How the overall workforce is designed and managed.

Our research, which sampled over 1,000 employees, states that a blended mix of in-office and at-home is the preference for 85% of those surveyed.

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A human and societal model At Cpl’s Future of Work Institute, we are seeing a fundamental evolution in the value system of businesses towards a more human and societal centred model. More than 57% of business are aiming to be more human centric and 80% more society centric in the next five years.

From a practical, actionable perspective more human means: demystifying technology and applying it in an ethical manner, pursuing flatter structures, a deeper understanding of the human experience, evolved leadership and a focus on balance, inclusiveness and authenticity.

Society centric means embracing circular practices, seeing caring as a key business asset, a focus on total stakeholder engagement and being a responsible business with sustainability at core. As Declan Bogan, Engagement and Sustainability Lead at Future of Work Institute states “We need sustainability built in; we cannot wait any longer.”

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• Worktask – The methods, tools and mindsets that deliver the work.

The workplace: flexible, smart and distributed It is likely that we will see a greater harnessing of collaborative platforms, new forms of mixed, multi rich engagement tools, as well as a greater drive towards appropriate forms of flexible, distributed or hybrid working.

It is also clear that a formalised approach to what the workplace is and what it means for employees will be a critical design component for organisations to consider getting the most out of the physical-virtual opportunity.

It is likely in some instances that some parts of the physical footprint of an organisation and its role may well need to be reconsidered.

Our research, which sampled over 1,000 employees, states that a blended mix of in-office and at-home is the preference for 85% of those surveyed. For many organisations, the physical workplace will remain as is, in manufacturing for example. However, for others we may see a re-evaluation/re-imagining of the role of the physical office as a hub, club, a place for deep social collaboration, an experiential place, or an area where the important meetings need to happen. How we manage people across these hybrid working models will continue to be a key consideration now and into the future.

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The workforce: design, experience and care to our study. There are strong considerations A broadening of what the workforce is, with a for the importance of a conscious and ethical greater use of the blended workforce to access approach to technology. the best talent globally is likely, everything A move towards work practices that enable from permanent employees to ‘hire by a greater sense of ownership, community and the hour’ knowledge workers. Libby Kelly, collaboration are likely to see greater adoption Director of Cpl Technology says: “Clients - like agile and design centred approaches. are already looking to hire on a short term/ As with technologies, pockets of units within contract basis and looking further afield for organisations are already well on the way candidates, this is only going to rise as leaders to adopting these practices but as such, get better at managing people remotely.” they are not always evenly distributed Organisations will have to place a greater in organisations. emphasis on designing people propositions An increased importance on human and and employee experiences that are value led transversal skills will continue to emerge and create a sense of care and belonging, as we move into a more augmented future harnessing appropriate technology platforms. including stronger communication skills, Aine Fanning, Director of the Enterprise self-awareness, self-management, team Solutions team at Cpl collaboration and an ability says: “Employees across to adapt and understand all generations are rapidly new technologies. From moving from traditional our research, 67% of career paths to more organisations rated evolved The future of work is experience led careers. To leadership skills as one of stay relevant, organisations the top skillsets need for the a leadership imperative need to be able to manage future of work. and as such it is not blended workforce models that strengthen their A strategic opportunity for something that is own strategic goals and advancement ‘owned’ by the HR, the career journeys of The future of work is a independent talent.” leadership imperative and or People function.

It is likely that leadership as such it is not something will need to evolve that is ‘owned’ by the HR, towards a more empowering, orchestration or People function. It should be driven and and coaching style allowing employees to sponsored at the very top and viewed as a experience a greater sense of ownership along strategic opportunity for collaborative and their career journey. competitive advantage. Given the current Some of the key challenges highlighted to us challenges and changes facing us surely by leaders in managing hybrid teams included now is the time to create exemplar future fit a lack of social connection, teamwork and organisations and ignite the beacons for the camaraderie and long-term negative impacts next generation of work and talent. As Lorna on employee mental health. Elysia Hegarty, Conn, Cpls Deputy CEO, states “The future of Associate Director and Wellness Lead at work is about how we find, recruit, manage the Future of Work Institute highlights that and motivate the best talent. Ultimately it is “Workplace wellness needs to broaden and talented teams who transform businesses and evolve if it is to fully support the future of exploit change.” work world. The future of wellness can have a It is the popular thing to say that the future strategic impact on both the business bottom of work is already here, it is not, it is in a state line and the employee’s general well-being but of becoming. It is up to us to harness the it must be tailored rather than a blanket onechange and build something fundamentally size fits all approach.” better for our colleagues, customers, and communities alike.

The worktask: automation, autonomy and human skills Automation and augmentation of people and associated tasks to deliver work is set to accelerate over the next five years according

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Workplace wellness needs to broaden and evolve if it is to fully support the future of work world.

The future of wellness can have a strategic impact on both the business bottom line and the employee’s general wellbeing but it must be tailored rather than a blanket one-size fits all approach.

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How can digital transformation help Ireland embrace change?

Remote working has become, without a shadow of a doubt, one of the buzzwords of this pandemic.

The new world of work is more exciting, but also less predictable. Digital transformation has the potential to further revolutionise the future of work in Ireland.

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ith the onset of the pandemic, the past 20 months have seen huge acceleration in the pace of change. The world of work experienced a dramatic overnight transformation, which saw many businesses around the world adapting to a completely new way of working.

The role that digital transformation can play in helping Ireland embrace change and overcome the related challenges cannot be denied. From rejuvenating business processes to reimagining the way we deliver services and enhancing customer experience.

How we can succeed in the new world of work How organisations, government and individuals respond will fundamentally affect the quality of our jobs and lives in the future. It will determine the ability of businesses to prosper and, more fundamentally, it will shape our society and living standards for generations.

Ibec’s Smarter World, Smarter Work campaign proposes a range of actions across four key areas: • Investment in skills and employability.

At all stages, for all ages, the training and education system must equip individuals with the knowledge and skills they need to reach their full potential.

• Flexibility at all life stages.

We all need to embrace new ways of managing working life – individuals, employers and government. We need to rethink traditional career paths, embrace new ways of working and ensure public policy actively encourages work.

• A dynamic labour market.

A responsive labour market that supports job creation and high living standards, while also safeguarding our dynamic business model is vital.

• Smoother career transitions.

Economic, technological and social change means people are moving between working and non-working life more often during their lives. Our employment, social protection and pensions system needs to support easy transitions.

Ireland is ranked among the top countries worldwide for the flexibility and adaptability of our workforce. We must now embrace the new opportunities the workplace revolution brings in order to cement our position as leader in this new approach to work.

Una Fitzpatrick Director, Technology Ireland

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The benefits of remote working are significant for all Rural Ireland, employers and employees all stand to benefit from a growing shift from the office HQ to the digital hub.

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pread across rural Ireland is a growing network of remote working facilities known as digital hubs.

These hubs welcome people of all professions and backgrounds who, for various reasons, have chosen to make remote working a permanent fixture of their lives.

Remote working has become, without a shadow of a doubt, one of the buzzwords of this pandemic.

We have all experienced its benefits: reduced commutes, a lower carbon footprint and more time spent in our own communities.

Remote working does not suit all For now, everyone who can work from home should work from home. But working from home, as thousands of our citizens continue to do, will not be the preferred option for everyone when we eventually emerge from this pandemic.

In the longer run, remote working should not necessarily mean spending Monday to Friday working from your kitchen table or the office in the spare bedroom. In fact, I’m strongly of the view that this is not a healthy option for many people.

Blended working approach We all need to have a demarcation between work and home life. There are benefits to pursuing a ‘blended working’ approach that may involve working from home some days and working from an office or hub on others. That’s where the Connected Hubs initiative comes in.

In conjunction with the Western Development Commission, my Department is bringing together over 400 hubs into one single hub network. We already have over 170 on board with more coming on stream every month.

In the near future, I will be launching a new app so that people can book their spaces in their local hubs by simply pulling out their mobile phone. Digital

hubs give people both the option and opportunity to live and work within their own community.

Above all, it gives people a better quality of life.

I believe some trends are there to be broken. This is our one big chance to turn the tide. Let’s embrace the concept of remote working and continue to build our national network of digital hubs.

Breaking existing trends For decades, we have seen global trends where our young people say goodbye to their families and communities and move to the larger cities to live and work.

I believe some trends are there to be broken. This is our one big chance to turn the tide. Let’s embrace the concept of remote working and continue to build our national network of digital hubs.

In doing so, we will revitalise our rural towns and villages and show the world that while remote working may have once been a concept, in Ireland it will be a reality for decades to come.

Minister Heather Humphreys Department of Rural and Community Development

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What will the future of university education be like?

Learning through and beyond COVID-19, a new programme is helping prepare students for work and life.

T Tony Hall Director of Educational Design Research for Designing Futures, Office of the Dean of Students, NUI Galway

he COVID 19 pandemic has caused unprecedented disruption to education, with the UN estimating that almost 1.5 billion learners have been affected adversely in terms of access to and continuity of their education.

Universities such as NUI Galway have stepped up to meet the challenges presented by the pandemic and used innovation and creativity to find opportunities in the face of adversity. The imperative is to create a more inclusive education system, one that tackles big challenges facing society while giving young people the confidence and skills to engage with the complex and uncertain world of today, and tomorrow.

Future jobs opportunities A new programme at NUIGalway, Designing Futures, aims to achieve just that. Designing Futures is the combined approach of University Staff and enterprise partners. At the same time it offers a more holistic education and develops the skills to innovate for the future.

Tony Hall, Director of Educational

Design Research for Designing Futures, Office of the Dean of Students, NUI Galway, says: “It will give them the skills to realise their talents and succeed in life.

“Designing Futures is about nurturing and supporting students to develop new skills and equip them with the abilities and competences to be ready for life and the workplace of the future.”

Students will be given personal skills training and learning in tools that will be of use to them throughout their lives.

The programme has four core pillars: • A personalised student experience supported by success coaches to enable them to design their futures by maximising their university experience. Linked with and based on the Design Your Life approach of Stanford University.

• The new human centred design studio - IdeasLab. It brings together our students and enterprise

One size does not fit all in the future of work The pandemic triggered a global experiment in the way we work. It is time to take the lessons learned from that experience and build more inclusive, sustainable and flexible workplaces.

W Claudia Carr People & Organisation Transformation Director, BearingPoint

ith so many different working model options to consider - centralised, hubs, remote, hybrid - the burning questions for many organisations remain: “What model works best?” and “How do we protect our organisation culture, support collaboration and innovate?”

Finding the best model The truth is that there is no single optimal model. What works for one organisation may not work for another. Within organisations, what works for one team or one role, will not suit all. What is optimal today, may not be in the future.

However, our experience shows there are a number of underlying principles which will help guide organisations as they consider the future of work.

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• Define your guiding star.

Set a clear vision for what you want to achieve, aligned to your strategic goals and values.

This includes defining guiding principles for ways of working which are understood across the organisation.

• Empower teams to define the model that works best for them.

Provide them with the necessary training, coaching and tooling.

Trust that they understand their objectives and how best to structure working practices to achieve them.

• Equip managers to lead.

Communications, planning, capacity management, coaching and effective delegation are critical skills to support new working models. Managers need to be equipped with the skills to lead diverse teams.

partners – from some of the biggest and most innovative employers in Ireland – to develop learning experiences that are driven by design thinking, tech, curiosity, creativity and empathy.

• A new suite of modules which breaks down the traditional silos of academic specialism, promoting innovative thinking and problemsolving among students across the university.

• Modelled on the approach of Georgia Institute of Technology, multidisciplinary teams of staff and students are brought together to solve research challenges in culture, enterprise and society.

Holistic approach to university education Hall concludes: “Students will be given personal skills training and learning in tools that will be of use to them throughout their lives, helping them to make the best career and life choices.

“Our hope and our aim are the same - to better prepare young graduates for the complex world of today and tomorrow.”

• Create time for meaningful connection. Relationships and social connection are critical to organisation success.

They are often a catalyst for innovation. Making time for these connections, whether in person or virtual, is more important now than ever.

• Test and learn. Recognise that things will evolve. Seek regular feedback from a range of internal and external stakeholders on what is working well, and what could work better. Celebrate successes and take learnings from what did not go to plan. Maintain focus on the guiding star when testing a new hypothesis.

• Review key skills and competencies. As workplaces evolve, so too will the skills and competencies required in the workforce. Organisation and individual resilience, technical, managing change and people skills will continue to grow in importance.

The seeds of the future of work were planted long before the pandemic, but it took a crisis to demonstrate that alternative working models could be successfully adopted across industries. Technical tools alone will not deliver new ways of working, but with the right approach the future of work will deliver benefits for all.

Paid for by NUI Galway

For more information on the work of academics and researchers at NUI Galway visit impact. nuigalway.ie

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Employees now seek to have greater control over the way they work, as well as a strong connection to the purpose of their work.

How to create an attractive workplace While the pandemic has propelled much of the workforce into remote and hybrid working, other significant changes in the workplace have also been happening, including the role of technology and the strengthening of the employee voice.

Mary Connaughton, Director, CIPD Ireland

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he pace of technology adoption has escalated during the past two years.

Pandemic safety measures and remote working have driven most companies to significantly increase the use of digital tools. This change has been most significant among the people profession.

The CIPD People Profession Report 2021 UK and Ireland showed that digital and technological transformation is the top factor generating change.

Communications, meetings, wellbeing, recruitment, learning, office management all moved online, alongside so many operational processes and have laid the foundation for virtual working that is here to stay.

all have to be planned so the right people are on site together. Allowing time for social connection and the random encounters while walking around or grabbing a coffee will be increasing critical for embedding the culture and building innovation.

Importance of employee voices Uncertain times gave rise to an increase in employee consultation, surveys and online forums, which all served to strengthen the employee voice and influence. Employee empowerment has grown and employees now seek to have greater control over the way they work, as well as a strong connection to the purpose of their work.

From our engagement with CIPD members, we know the “great resignation” is a reality today.

Individuals are making decisions to work in a way that better reflects their life path. This trend towards personalisation of the employment relationship will continue, as employees construct their personal way of working, intertwined with their life. This pressure has led many employers to formalise hybrid working for the future.

Collaboration and innovation will increasingly be the focus of time spent physically together, as gaps emerged during the pandemic around these. Onsite meetings and team collaboration

Tackling barriers and inequalities The pressure to build real inclusion will grow. We hear how frequently its importance is raised by applicants as they evaluate joining a company.

Our CIPD HR Practices in Ireland 2021 research found 62% of organisations are working to create an inclusive culture, but more needs to be done.

Inequalities and barriers to access remain too high and a growing number of employees are willing to call this out.

Getting the balance between business and customer requirements and individual expectations takes a lot of consultation at team and individual level.

Our CIPD HR Practices in Ireland 2021 research found 62% of organisations are working to create an inclusive culture, but more needs to be done.

CIPD is the professional body for the people profession, with a mission to champion better working lives. Visit our website cipd.ie

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Digital transformation is helping provide flexibility for employees New digital solutions are helping to advance businesses’ core goals and deliver true flexibility for employees as we embrace the future of work.

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ew digital business software solutions are allowing businesses to focus on their core goals and provide employees with a better work-life balance. With new technology for tackling administrative demands becoming more understood and available, there is a generational opportunity for businesses to achieve greater efficiency while building a better working environment, whether it be in a physical office or working remotely.

The benefits of remote and flexible working While many businesses are still adapting to new working models, it’s clear that tangible benefits have emerged. According to 2021 research from Sage Ireland conducted among Irish businesses in association with YouGov, the businesses who experienced positive impacts from COVID-19 outlined how their customers are now more active virtually, how their staff are more productive and that they had gained more customers.

Barry Murphy is the Managing Director of Sage Ireland. He believes administrative burdens of older working models can be permanently removed through utilising the various digital tools at businesses’ disposal, to put businesses on a new direction of travel, allowing more focus on their core objectives and ensuring a better work-life balance for staff.

He adds: “There is currently a wide and growing variety of digital tools to provide fast and efficient solutions to the regular administrative processes that businesses, particularly SMEs, have to contend with, such as invoices, expenses and admin.”

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Utilising tools to make positive, lasting change Sage’s offering of cloud-based accounting and payroll software solutions suits the needs of businesses of all sizes and is there to streamline business and increase efficiencies. In a nutshell, embracing cloud technology to help run a business means that business owners, and their employees, can work remotely more efficiently and manage their business processes anytime, anywhere.

Sage’s software is seamless, intuitive and offers 24/7 telephone support, online chat support and free training for users.

Industries are showing their appetite to adapt to using new technologies, with just under 9 in 10 businesses having made a change to the way they operate as a consequence of COVID-19, according to Sage Ireland’s 2021 research.

This same research outlined how businesses making their goods and services available online and accelerating their ‘digital transformation’ are the most common changes businesses have been making to adapt.

“Of course, there is no one size-fitsall with any transition in working style,” adds Murphy. “Through identifying their workforces’ diversity and employees’ specific needs in the office and outside of it, employers can create more personalised experiences to improve staff wellbeing to help with this transition.”

Barry Murphy Managing Director, Sage Ireland

Building better working models with the right solutions With the help of cloud HR and payroll software, there are numerous ways to improve employee wellbeing.

Providing flexibility will help employees manage their work and home priorities. Employers should consider offering flexible start and finish times, reduced hours and remote or hybrid working to maintain engagement.

It’s important to look at offering extra support too. Resources that employees can self-serve with – such as wellbeing support numbers, employee benefits and financial support schemes – can help them put their wellbeing first.

Time to start embracing the future of work With reductions in stress and absences related to mental health resulting in higher employee engagement and productivity, embracing better working practices for employees and leveraging new tools is a win-win.

“Businesses can now harness new digital solutions to remove the worries of the past from their strategies, allowing for a more dynamic working environment. This is the trajectory businesses should be moving in and we want to help them do that,” concludes Murphy.

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To find out how you can use technology to support your employees, visit sage.com/ie/ futureofwork

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Awareness is taking time to tune in to our thoughts, feelings and actions.

Pay attention to your breathing and how you feel in your mind and body.

Four simple steps to help regain control of your mental wellbeing The human species is incredibly adaptive. We can eventually adjust to most circumstances, challenges and crisis. Even so, it can all take its toll on our mental health.

Carmen Bryce Communications and Fundraising Manager, Mental Health Ireland

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t the moment, almost two years since our world changed dramatically, it is safe to say that many of us are pouring from an empty cup.

So, when the road ahead continues to be so long and winding, what can we do to mind our mental health? How can we best live our lives in the shadow of all of this uncertainty?

Exploring the four A’s We look at the four A’s mental health approach, we regain some of that control and be more at peace with what’s happening around us. We can tune into how we are feeling and take action to improve our mood and overall mental wellbeing. They are: 1. Awareness: Right now, we might be feeling scared, angry, frustrated or confused. These are all natural responses to what is happening around us. Awareness is taking time to tune in to our thoughts, feelings and actions. Pay attention to your breathing and how you feel in your mind and body.

2. Acknowledge: Acknowledging what comes up for us is an opportunity to express and validate how we feel and what we are thinking. We might have a good cry, write in a journal, talk to a friend or a professional, listen to podcasts and give ourselves permission to say: ‘Yes, this is really hard.’

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3. Acceptable: Acceptance is key. There is a lot out of our control right now, it is ok to have days when we struggle to get out of bed, acceptance that we do have the power to make our own small worlds a better place to be, no matter how restricted. Acceptance is that it’s ok to need to talk to someone who is trained to help when we need it.

4. Action: Action is about taking what we have learnt and acting on it. This might look like reaching out to someone to create a support bubble, asking for help if you need it, meditating, going for a walk or doing nothing if that’s all you’re in the mood for. Always be kind to yourself!

While it does sometimes feels as if we’ll never turn a corner, the day will come. In the meantime, create a space for yourself to feel what you want to feel and to react with self-compassion and purpose.

Mental Health Ireland provides workshops and training in the workplace promoting mental health, wellbeing and recovery and teaching skills on how to protect and improve mental health and wellbeing. For more information visit here mentalhealthireland.ie/training/

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European tech innovation in the heart of Dublin It is no secret that Dublin is home to a rapidly growing number of start-ups. There is a real buzz and enthusiasm for tech innovation particularly in sectors focusing on security, SaaS, fintech and AI.

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oming in at third place (just behind Paris) for the second year consecutively, Dublin’s ranking by Financial Times’ fDi Intelligence has confirmed the city as one to watch in the tech sphere. Dublin was also recently awarded joint second place with Malaga in the EU’s European Capital of Innovation Awards, losing only to Dortmund.

Many factors influence Dublin’s recent boom in innovation, including our long-standing entrepreneurial culture, a highly competitive investor and VC market and government encouragement. All of these components are helping to create a thriving hub of technology culture.

Andrew Lynch COO & Co-Founder, Huckletree

Increasing diversity in Dublin We are also seeing Dublin’s tech scene becoming increasingly diverse. More women are in leading business positions, entrepreneurs are joining the scene at a younger age and more international talent is settling down in the city. Understandably, this new generation of scaleups and start-ups are revaluating the workplace and their changing needs for a company headquarters for their team.

Hybrid working is here to stay and the most innovative companies are already ahead of the curve in providing flexible working solutions for their employees. Here at Huckletree, we’re proud to be known as the home of brave innovation. We’re partnering with our member organisations to help evaluate this change in working habits on corporate culture and work with them to answer the questions around team engagement.

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Many factors influence Dublin’s recent boom in innovation, including our long-standing entrepreneurial culture, a highly competitive investor and VC market and government encouragement.

The future work vision What does work look like for employees in 2022? What do businesses need to do to attract and retain the best talent? What will a strong employer brand look like and how do companies create meaningful team member experiences in this new era of hybrid work? These are the real challenges facing organisations today. We’re working hard with our members to understand what changes companies can make to ensure remote and hybrid working staff maintain a sense of connection and support them through this period of transition.

The last couple of years have been challenging for everybody, but we’re increasingly optimistic looking into 2022. We’re excited to continue to support our members in making an impact in Dublin’s tech scene as the city further cements itself as one of Europe’s most significant tech ecosystems.

Find out more at huckletree.com

Ensuring employees happiness is key to work productivity A better physical and digital workspace and an increased focus on employee wellbeing are key demands of the modern workforce.

A Simon Daly Employee Experience Strategist, Qualtrics WRITTEN BY Mark Nicholls

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t the heart of a better employee experience is regularly listening and taking action. Flexible working and staff wellbeing are high on the agenda as the outlook of employees continues to shift amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Employment expert Simon Daly warns that companies which fail to listen and respond to changing workforce demands will be in for a “bumpy ride” in the months ahead.

Employee engagement Engagement with staff, he continues, will be crucial as workplace experience has a strong correlation to productivity.

“Somebody who is naturally happier and feels more connected to a business that listens is more likely to give their best. It will also have a positive impact on their wellbeing,” says Daly, who is an Employee Strategist with experience management platform Qualtrics.

Noting that the trend towards hybrid and remote working has been accelerated by the pandemic but was already emerging prior to 2020, he adds: “The pandemic has demonstrated over the last 18 months how adaptable people are and how productive they can be working from home in fairly extreme circumstances. People were hesitant to try it before because nobody was making the leap.”

However, with the onset of hybrid working, organisations need to consider what they are offering.

Those employees now expect better physical and digital workspaces, wherever they are.

Alternative employment Evidence also suggests that more than one in three staff

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will seek alternative employment if they have to go back to five days in the office. (Qualtrics Employee Experience Trends Report 2022).

While the concept of presenteeism is diminishing, working remotely also needs to be managed as some staff may find it difficult to separate home and work life. This underlines the importance of employers taking the time to listen to their staff on a frequent basis.

Daly explains: Managers and colleagues are used to being sat together in the office, and now that’s no longer the case, it becomes much harder to understand how someone is feeling.” It can also impact employee retention if companies fail to listen, or not be “adaptable and flexible” in how their staff work.

Managers and colleagues are used to being sat together in the office, and now that’s no longer the case, it becomes much harder to understand how someone is feeling.

Trends for 2022 He believes the year ahead will continue to be unpredictable. Qualtrics has seen four clear trends emerge from a global study of 14,000 people about what workers want in 2022.

These indicate an exodus of people, notably women, from organisations; demands for a better physical and digital workspace; stronger diversity and inclusion programmes; and that a lack of focus on wellbeing will be a “countdown to disaster.”

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Why hybrid work is good for business

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holesale remote working, implemented as a crisis response during the pandemic, has evolved into permanent hybrid working – a blend of workplace and home working that will define the future of work.

At LogMeIn, we’ve learned so much from implementing a remotecentric workforce policy, enabling our people to work productively from anywhere. Now many of our offices have reopened, we’re experiencing the full possibilities of the hybrid working model.

Recruitment without boundaries Hybrid working means your workforce is no longer restricted by geography. You can potentially recruit the best talent from anywhere in the world providing it is the right fit for your organisation. Without geographical constraints, you can tap into a broader and more diverse talent pool to strengthen your business.

Hundreds of employees have joined LogMeIn over the past year, 30% of which do not live near any of our offices. In the US, the figure is 50%.

The success of hybrid working for any business relies on finding the optimum combination of working remotely, working in offices, collaborating and connecting with wider networks, both inperson and digitally.

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Improved productivity During the pandemic, we were able to prove the veracity of our founding theory – that using technology for remote work makes employees more productive. Research by Forrester backs up this assertion. It found that 61% of employees got more work done in an eight-hour day when working remotely and 62% were happier. * The success of hybrid working for any business relies on finding the optimum combination of working remotely, working in offices, collaborating and connecting with wider networks, both in-person and digitally. Finding the right balance requires an examination of the productivity drivers in your business.

How important are time, place and direct personal interaction to your productivity? These considerations should shape your hybrid working strategy and help you establish the practices, tools and technologies to optimise productivity.

Sion Lewis Vice President and Managing Director EMEA, LogMeIn

Work-life balance Hybrid working can give people more time for the things that matter outside work, like hobbies, exercise and family. If people manage their time effectively, they can reap the benefits of ditching the long commute.

Businesses must learn how to manage remote employees to prevent burnout and excessive working hours.

That means establishing boundaries, policies and support mechanisms that encourage people to develop a healthy work-life balance.

Everyone has different personal circumstances and preferences, and the beauty of hybrid working is that it can be adapted around the needs and priorities of each individual.

Image from Shutterstock

The pandemic has changed the way we work forever. But how can businesses optimise the opportunities presented by a future of hybrid working?

Collaboration and communication Since the pandemic, video conferencing and virtual meeting tools have become part of everyday life. The notion that we no longer have to be in the same room to collaborate, communicate and innovate is now commonplace.

Ever since digital technology was first introduced, it has been overlaid on established organisational structures and processes. Now, businesses have the opportunity to redesign ways of working and collaborating from scratch, and to choose the right technologies to enable those optimal working practices. To support this process, businesses might consider creating digital workplace teams to develop the technologies and infrastructure required to support effective collaboration and communication across the hybrid workforce.

Continuous evolution Businesses have come a long way in adapting to a more fluid and changeable working environment.

But to continue that transition successfully, we must continue to develop the skills and working practices to ensure we create a fair and equal experience for all employees, wherever they work.

If we can do that, the future of work in a digitally connected world offers inspiring possibilities for every business – empowering employees to work productively and effectively from anywhere. * https://www.logmein.com/work-from-home-remoteaccess/forrester-work-from-anywhere-trends

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Find out more at LogMeIn.com

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