The “Grow Remote – Future of Work Pulse” looks at what’s shaping the future of work across Ireland and beyond. We round up the latest stories, share insights, opinions and spotlight how distributed work is empowering people, employers and communities to thrive, while not shying away from the challenges of remote!
1) Hybrid Working Needs More Than Policy – It Needs Training and Resources!
A landmark report from a House of Lords Select Committee on Home-Based Working, titled “Is working from home working? Home-Based Working in the UK” (published November 2025), concluded that while hybrid work has the potential to be the “best of both worlds,” its success is fundamentally undermined by a severe deficit in management capability.
The Committee was concerned by a “concerning deficit in the skills and training needed to manage hybrid and remote working,” linking this failure to a broader cultural pattern of “under-investment in management training in the UK generally”. Without proper training and well-designed practices, the approach risks exacerbating existing inequalities and resulting in a “line manager lottery”.
This systemic failure to manage hybrid work effectively is exemplified in the Civil Service, where the 60% office attendance mandate has been criticised for not achieving its collaboration goals, causing a “decrease in self-reported productivity” and forcing staff to attend offices merely to “sit on Teams calls”. The report ultimately stresses that effective outcomes depend on whether hybrid work is “co-ordinated and well managed,” rather than just mandated.
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Further insights on effects and future development of remote and hybrid working in the UK included:
There is no “one-size-fits all” answer to the question of working from home and productivity.
Hybrid working can be the “best of both worlds” compared to fully remote or in-person work, but only if done well;
Not everyone can work from home and access to it is unequal, with levels higher among professionals, university graduates, and those living in London;
Many return-to-office mandates amount to formalising hybrid working, rather than a return to full-time office attendance;
Remote and hybrid working can help employers with recruitment and retention, but can present challenges for collaboration and management;
Changes to flexible working requests under the Government’s Employment Rights Bill could risk “years of litigation” at employment tribunals, unless the legislation is defined clearly and effectively;
Grow Remote Opinion:
Too many organisations still treat hybrid as a location policy, not a capability strategy. But the future of work will be won by those who invest in how work gets done, not just where.
The evidence is clear: when leaders are equipped to manage by outcomes and build trust remotely, team performance follows. Remote and hybrid work is not plug-and-play. It’s a skillset.
It’s time to close the capability gap and bring practice in line with policy. Because remote and hybrid done poorly hurts productivity. But remote and hybrid done well enables flexibility, focus, and high performance – an enabler for competitiveness and productivity supporting the government of Ireland’s most recent action plan for business.
2) Remote Work is a Game Changer for Disability Employment
New research shows remote work is doing what decades of policy haven’t: closing the disability employment gap.
An important and meaningful study from SNS – the Center for Business and Policy Studies finds that up to 85% of the increase in employment among people with disabilities in the United States since 2019 is directly linked to the expansion of remote work. The research was conducted by Dan-Olof Rooth (Stockholm University), Nicholas Bloom (Stanford University), and Gordon B. Dahl (University of California, San Diego).
The results suggest that remote work reduces the burden of commuting and allows for greater control over the work environment and “This is one of the most promising developments we have seen in decades in the labour market for people with disabilities. It shows that structural barriers can indeed be dismantled,” says Rooth.
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The results echo Ireland’s own Making Remote Work strategy, which recognised remote as a powerful lever for inclusion as it states “Remote working has the potential to support increased labour market participation for those with a disability.”
With this SNS research we can now define that the potential has been demonstrated!
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And the reality is playing out on the ground. Through Grow Remote’s Equal Remote Access training programme, delivered in partnership with WorkEqual we’ve seen first hand how remote work has the opportunity to remove barriers, create choice, and empower people to work in a way that suits their needs.
Grow Remote Opinion:
This is no longer theory. We have the data. We have the human stories. And now, we have a responsibility.
Remote-first roles must be central to every disability and DEI strategy in 2026 and beyond. That means designing roles for flexibility, adapting recruitment, and building inclusive team cultures where all employees can thrive, regardless of geography or physical access.
Inclusion doesn’t happen by accident. It must be intentional. Remote work must be used as infrastructure and as an enabler of equity in the future of work.
3) Productivity Myths are Crumbling – But the Debate Rages On
Denis O’Brien called remote work a mistake. But most Irish people, and the data, disagree.
In a headline-making speech at the Business Post’s Economic Outlook Forum, businessman Denis O’Brien labelled remote work a “mistake” and claimed it was responsible for a decline in productivity and work ethic. He went further, saying:
“Everyone knows it was a mistake but won’t admit that the system is mostly being gamed.”
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But public sentiment and the data paint a different picture. A Red C / Business Post poll found that 54% of Irish adults oppose rolling back remote work, with just 18% in favour of a return to the office.
Regardless, many including ourselves might agree that maintaining productivity in remote and hybrid environments presents unique challenges for all businesses!
However, if you are intentional about empowering and upskilling your teams, remote and hybrid worker productivity will not be a concern greater than any others for your leadership team – freeing you to focus on other core business needs / challenges and as the IBEC 2025 HR Trends report defined – there are plenty of them!
Is there any data to back this “However” up?
1) CIPD – HR Practices in Ireland 2025 👇
Organisations have recognised the need to understand the impact of remote and flexible working, and different patterns are emerging…and three-quarters reported that it improved productivity as well as wellbeing.
2) Western Development Commission (WDC)- 2022 Remote Working in Ireland Survey 👇
84% of 6K Irish workers either agreed or strongly agreed that working remotely increases their productivity and 79% either agreed or strongly agreed that working remotely reduces their work-related stress.
What about managers?
2,777 respondents indicated that they had people management responsibilities: 47% indicated that working remotely / hybrid has a positive impact on team productivity / performance; 42% indicated it makes no difference; and 10% indicated it has a negative impact
“More than 9 out of 10 workers believe they are either more productive or just as productive when working from home. Interestingly, employers are also acknowledging the benefits of remote work, with more than 3 out of 4 saying their employees are either more productive or having a neutral view on their productivity.
We dove into it all this time last year and shared a handful of top tips in the article “Remote Work Productivity Debate: Case Closed – It’s How You Work, Not Where You Work”
Perhaps we were a bit early out of the blocks and the debate is not closed?
Grow Remote Opinion:
Remote work is not for everyone or every business. Neither is it immune to bad management! But the answer isn’t to abandon flexibility and call for a return to the office. The solution lies in recognising remote work as a serious and viable operating model and choosing to lead it better.
The future of work doesn’t hinge on location. It hinges on leadership, clarity, and team culture. Our Leading Remote & Hybrid Teams training exists to help Irish organisations unlock all of these and move from reaction to thriving in thier operations.
As we and many others have said before: it’s not where you work. It’s how! And when remote is done well, it works.
Our mission is to solve the challenges of remote work in order to unlock social, economic and environmental change for individuals, employers and local communities.
One of the ways we deliver this is though fully funded training courses for leaders and aspiring managers in Ireland.
“Leading Remote & Hybrid Teams” is now open for 2026 registrations of interest here.
The Robert Walters 2026 Talent Trends report states that “Understanding talent trends is essential for organisations navigating today’s fast-changing workforce.
