Nearly half of people would turn down a job if it did not offer a remote work option, a new survey has found.

The report by the Stepstone Group, which owns IrishJobs.ie, surveyed 11,000 workers in a number of countries and found the days of being physically present in the office every single day of the week are well and truly over.

While many welcome the change, some managers feel it is hard to know for sure that the people on their team are working hard and not slacking off. 

On The Pat Kenny Show, Sanderson Recruitment managing director Donal O’Donoghue said the workplace has still not fully adjusted to the working from home phenomenon. 

“What I’ve noticed is that people managers are reverting to old, outdated ways of measuring performance,” he said. 

“So, what we need to see is organisations retraining their managers to manage their output - rather than input. 

“So, for example, if someone has a piece of work to deliver to a certain level of quality and it’s done within a time period and they’re working remotely - why can’t they go and get some fresh air? Why can’t they go and throw on a load of laundry? 

“That’s one of the main benefits of being able to work remotely.” 

Mother feeding her children dinner at kitchen table whilst working from home. Image: Barry Anson / Alamy Stock Photo

The report also noted that, “Prolonged work-related or personal stress typically triggers burnout, which for some employees heightens the risk of attrition.” 

With that in mind, people are picky about where they work. 

“61% of people will turn down an attractive job offer if a manager leaves a bad impression,” Mr O’Donoghue said. 

“Almost 50% of people will turn down a job offer that doesn’t offer remote working. 

“You can’t get the genie back into the bottle - this way of working is here to stay. 

“So, organisations and managers need to evolve.”

A man works from home. Image: Wavebreak Media Premium / Alamy Stock Photo

The report also notes that burnout “highly correlated with low feelings of inclusion” - which is a risk factor for those who work from home. 

“One of the things that I’m hearing from our clients is that a gap is emerging between senior management and people that are earlier in their careers,” Mr O’Donoghue said. 

“And it’s a skills gap where when people worked in the office full time, there was more exposure to being invited along to a meeting or there was more exposure to hearing conversations or being included in conversations.” 

As well as remote workers, the survey found women, LGBT people and those with disabilities were at the higher risk of burnout.

Main image: A busy woman working on her laptop while holding her baby in her lap. Image: LightField Studios Inc. / Alamy Stock Photo