Half of rural remote workers struggling with broadband issues
A new survey by Pure Telecom, Ireland’s high-speed broadband and telecoms provider, has found that 53% of respondents working from home and living in rural locations are struggling with home working due to issues around their working location, such as poor broadband infrastructure. Moreover, in Dublin city, one third of office workers share this problem, which poses challenges for businesses and workers alike.
Pure Telecom’s survey found that remote office workers in Connacht surveyed are the worst affected, with 44% saying their location has had a negative impact on their productivity when working from home. The research also found that most office workers would like to continue working remotely at least some of the time. Indeed, 32% of those working from home said they would like the flexibility to work from home occasionally post-Covid-19 and 28% said they would like to do so on a full-time basis.
Those working from home in the private sector are far more likely to want to work from home all of the time, with 31% of respondents saying they would like this as an option versus 22% of those working in the public sector. Just 7% of respondents said that they never want to work remotely again.
Despite the appetite for greater flexibility around remote working in the future, Pure Telecom’s research found that 18% of office workers working from home surveyed do not believe that their employer will give them the option, rising to 26% in rural areas.
“Remote working is here to stay. It is making people more productive and it is giving them a better work/life balance,” said CEO of Pure Telecom, Paul Connell. “But once again, it thrusts the need for fast and reliable broadband across Ireland into the fore. Our research shows that many office workers have faced serious disadvantages solely because of where they live, which is unacceptable and not sustainable in the digital era.
“As workers nationwide confront the reality of level 5 restrictions, any proposed return to office life will likely be delayed, meaning more and more workers will be logging in from home for the foreseeable future. As such, it is crucial that all remote workers nationwide have access to reliable broadband infrastructure to ensure their home working is as seamless and as productive as possible.”
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