Remote working is likely to be 'clawed back' by employers as Ireland moves beyond the post-pandemic phase of COVID-19.
That's according to Newstalk Breakfast host Ciara Kelly, who was speaking amid claims Ireland is lagging behind other countries in facilitating 'potentially lucrative growth' in the area.
Ciara said she believes working from home was of its time.
"I think we're going to see remote working going the other way," she said.
"I suspect we're going to see over time, companies - unless they're so short of staff that they have to do whatever it takes to appease staff to stay with them - I think you're going to see people saying, 'Get your asses back into the office'.
"I don't really ever believe when I hear that productivity is unaffected or improved by home working.
"I know people who work at home, and they tell me how great it is to be able to put on a wash, put on the dinner and go for a walk.
"People at home are multi-tasking when they're remote working because they're juggling the domestic front as well".
'The office creates a mindset'
Ciara said rapport with co-workers can also suffer when working from home.
"I don't think connectivity is as good to your teams, to your team morale, I think meetings are a bit weird," she said.
"I keep hearing from people that they can't get people in certain departments in the public service because they're all working from home so nobody's manning the phones.
"So I think there are issues about that, about accessibility for people.
"As soon as companies become a bit more assertive, and maybe the jobs market changes a little bit, I think they're going to be [saying], 'Get back in here'.
"Some few jobs probably are amenable to working from home... but to me, the office creates a context that gives me a mindset.
"There was a reason it was resisted before the pandemic; it was brought in en-masse because of the pandemic, and I think post-pandemic it'll be clawed back," she added.
