More than half of Irish businesses could envisage paying staff a premium to work from the office, although few anticipate a return to the five-day office week, according to a new report from adviser JLL.

Despite the challenging commercial real estate landscape and mixed economic environment, Irish business leaders are bullish on the future, with two-thirds predicting that their corporate real estate budgets will increase between now and 2030.

In the global JLL Future of Work Survey 2024, 55% of Ireland-based business leaders said they were very likely to introduce different pay and benefits for employees who attend the office regularly and those who work completely remotely.

This is above the 39% average for Europe. In areas where long commutes are an obstacle to getting employees in the same building, the survey says 56% of organisations would consider having workspaces, answering, “We will supplement primary locations with a network of workspaces closer to where our employees live.”

In all, 62% of Irish respondents expect to increase the use of office space, while more than half plan to grow their total footprint over the next five years. Forty-seven per cent of organisations are what JLL described as “office advocates” that would like to see staff in the office five days a week — an increase compared with the global average of 34% in 2022.

However, most employers said hybrid work will remain in place, although they expected the office to be integral to the workplace. Fifty-seven per cent of Irish respondents identified as “hybrid promoters,” characterizing a policy of at least one to four days in the office, and 64% expected the number of in-office days to increase by 2030, above the global average of 43%.

“In Ireland, the survey shows clear evidence that the traditional work week has been resigned to the history books but the long-term narrative of what the workplace will look like in 2030 has yet to be written,” JLL Ireland Head of Research Niall Gargan said in a statement.

“Employees want greater flexibility, and this will restructure how office space is utilised. This is reflected in the survey results: 50% of our Irish respondents envision that by the end of the decade, office spaces might only open on certain days of the week. Additionally, 53% envision that the four-day working week will be a potential scenario for their organisation by the end of the decade.”