Dublin Chamber survey shows employers favour structured flexibility as attendance patterns and productivity perceptions stabilise.
Hybrid working has become an established part of daily life for Dublin’s business community, with most employers now treating flexible arrangements as a permanent feature rather than a transitional response to the pandemic.
Findings from Dublin Chamber’s latest Business Outlook Survey show that 78 per cent of businesses operate a hybrid working model. Fully on-site working, where roles could be carried out remotely, remains uncommon.
“Giving employers the discretion to determine what works best for their operations and their teams is critical to ensuring that hybrid working remains viable for businesses”
Fully remote arrangements also account for a relatively small share of employers, reinforcing the view that most organisations are converging on a blended approach.
In-office days
The survey suggests that hybrid working in Dublin has entered a more mature phase. Increasingly, companies are moving away from informal or ad hoc arrangements and towards clearer structures.
Set or minimum in-office days are now the dominant model, reflecting an emphasis on collaboration, learning and organisational culture alongside continued flexibility for staff.
Office attendance patterns have also settled. Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday are firmly embedded as core in-office days, with many firms reporting near-full occupancy. Friday is now widely regarded as a remote-working day. Monday presents a more divided picture, with an equal number of companies reporting very high attendance and very low attendance, suggesting that individual teams and sectors are shaping their own rhythms.
Productivity remains a central concern for employers, though the survey points to a largely stable assessment of performance. Almost half of businesses report no difference in productivity between remote and office-based work. Among those that do observe a difference, a greater proportion believe productivity is higher in in-person settings than in remote environments.
Despite the prominence of the debate, most firms have yet to introduce formal systems to measure remote productivity. The absence of quantitative metrics means that assessments are still based largely on managerial judgement and employee feedback rather than hard data.
Employee well-being is where hybrid working appears to have delivered the clearest gains. Nearly three-quarters of businesses report improvements in well-being and morale under hybrid or remote arrangements. Employers cite reduced commuting time, greater autonomy and improved work-life balance as key contributors to these outcomes.
The new working culture
Views on organisational culture are more varied. A significant number of firms report challenges in maintaining cohesion, supporting informal learning and onboarding new staff in hybrid environments. Many employers note that culture now requires more deliberate management, with greater emphasis on planned interactions, mentoring and communication.
Looking ahead, hybrid working policies appear set to remain largely unchanged. More than four-in-five businesses anticipate no change to their approach in 2026, signalling confidence that current models are sustainable and aligned with both employee expectations and business needs.
Mia Finnegan, public affairs manager at Dublin Chamber, said the policy environment has played an important role in enabling this balance.
“The flexible approach Government has taken so far in terms of regulating remote and flexible working has been positive. It has allowed businesses to balance the needs of employees with the operational realities of their organisation, without being penalised for making practical decisions,” she said.
She added that autonomy at firm level remains essential. “Giving employers the discretion to determine what works best for their operations and their teams is critical to ensuring that hybrid working remains viable for businesses.”
For Dublin employers, the conversation has shifted. Hybrid working is no longer framed as an experiment or a concession. It is treated as a settled feature of the modern workplace, shaped by patterns of attendance, evolving management practices and a clearer understanding of its effects on people and performance. The focus now is on refining how flexibility is managed so that productivity, culture and long-term competitiveness can be supported side by side.
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