A Dublin software company plans to install sleeping pods in the office for its workers.
Phorest is aiming convert a whole floor of its office on Anglesea Row to bring in the sleeping pods but was refused permission last month by Dublin City Council.
CEO Ronan Perceval told Newstalk Breakfast the move is the ‘obvious choice’ given many of his staff work remotely.
"After the pandemic, we moved fully remote like most companies in Ireland," he said.
"On the whole I think it's been a massive benefit for the team and the culture.
"People are really enjoying the flexibility; we've let people who maybe couldn't afford housing in Dublin to move out the country."
'Working much better'
Mr Perceval said workers need to meet each other to build up rapport.
"I suppose one of the things with remote working is that you do need to kind of have facetime and connection with people in person for it to really work," he said.
"We've noticed that people who had built up those relationships before COVID found remote working much better.
"When you're spending time on remote calls with people and you know them, it's a very different experience than if you start work somewhere and you just met people through video calls.
"We're trying to think how we can improve that".
Mr Perceval said the company has space in its office building for the new pods.
"We've got this floor in the office that's been empty for the last four years, even though we've more people now than we had before COVID," he said.
"It seemed really obvious that, if we had sleeping pods there, if people needed to do a meeting, they could call up and have the meeting.
"If they're far away from Dublin they can stay overnight and head off home the next day".
'Very time consuming'
Mr Perceval said using hotels can be a costly and unsuitable option.
"Trying to book hotels is extremely expensive and getting hotel accommodation near the office, when you need it, can be very time consuming," he said.
"Then, in the end, it puts people off doing that because they're under pressure [due to] the hassle and the cost and everything that comes with it."
Mr Perceval said the pods would be "a proper bedroom".
He also dismissed concerns that it equates to a form of co-living which has been banned by Dublin City Council.
"That's if somebody is living long-term - this is only going to be one-night stays," he added.
Phorest has appealed the case to An Bord Pleanála with a decision due by December this year.
