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EVERY WEEK, TheJournal.ie offers a selection of statistics and numerical nuggets to help you digest the week that has just passed.
€5,000: The maximum amount of money dog owners whose animals aren’t chipped will be fined from next month.
9,000: The number of cannabis plants seized last month in New Zealand. The country is now in the midst of a major shortage of the drug.
€637,000: The amount of money awarded to an Oxford University professor for proving a 300-year-old mathematical theory.
72: The age of popular singer Frank Sinatra Jr, who died suddenly while on tour this week.
14: Take a look at this list of St Patrick’s Day floats.
2: The number of hidden chambers possibly discovered in the tomb of the ancient Egyptian pharaoh Tutankhamun.
77: The age of magician Paul Daniels who passed away this week.
19th: Ireland’s place in terms of overall happiness according to a new report.
4,000: The number of pairs of women’s underpants that a Thai mototaxi driver who was publicly paraded by police is accused of stealing.
€100,000: The amount of money awarded to a homeless man for helping police recapture two escaped prison inmates.
€18,000: The amount of money a man stole from his own charity which helped send terminally ill children to Lapland. He avoided going to jail this week.
91: The age of a woman who completed her thesis this week after 30 years.
15: The number of years a US student was sentenced to hard labour for in North Korea for stealing a poster.
99,950: The number of Irish homes still in negative equity. While high, it represents the lowest figure since before the recession hit.
80%: The percentage of the vote American vice-president Joe Biden thinks Enda Kenny would get if he ran in the US.
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There’s no ending to the human capacity for complaining.
A hybrid system is a fantastic alternative to the pre-pandemic office based role – can we not just be happy that the opportunity exists and gradually improve on it or do we now have to complain about everything all of the time?
@Lee King Buckett: Are you……new? ;)
@v39e84kK: getting the feeling that Mr Buckett is a “human complaining”
@HowUdoin: That’s a fair point actually
@Lee King Buckett: It is not complaining for complainings sakes. Many have been effectively working remotely for the last two years & have no need to be in an office. Hybrid means that people still are geographically tethered to where they can live. Allowing full remote means there are people who could move away from the main urban areas, freeing up more homes for those who need to be near their work. More people moving to smaller towns means more regeneration & jobs outside of the main cities. Less commuting is better for the environment & more space on transport for those who need to use it. People can have a better quality of life. There will always be plenty of people who enjoy being in the office but demanding a return for those who do not need to be there is just a control mechanism.
@Lee King Buckett: We should take the opportunity to avoid logistical mistakes like asking someone to be in the office Monday morning, Wednesday all day and.Friday.afternoon without considering whether they live round the corner or three hours away.
@Heather Knowles: Personally I think that employers who are willing to offer hybrid working arrangements have already taken a big step forward and are doing enough for employees.
If you don’t like it then I guess you’re free to find a job with full time remote working in place?
@Lee King Buckett: I run my own business and don’t work in an office. It doesn’t affect me personally. But I can see the benefits of allowing remote work to continue for those who have effectively shown they are as effective and productive working remotely as being dragged back into an office to do exactly the same work. There are many benefits to it, environmentally, financially, housing, regeneration of smaller towns, less time wasted. Not everyone is an extrovert, introverts work much more effectively without social pressures. A one size fits all policy is nonsensical. Employers should recognise that and if someone is happy working remotely and has proven to be as effective over the last two years, there is no reason other then micro management to insist on coming back.
While I work remotely since 2016, a hybrid model could be nice, when set up with common sense. If the employers wants their staff in office for multiple days a week, those need to be consecutive days. The hybrid model Apple introduced, is the opposit of being beneficial, as it means that their employees still have to live close to the offices. Or commute long ways. Which has of course negative effects on the environment and/or the renting market. The last 2 years proved that a lot of jobs can be done remotely and for me there is no sense in stopping that for those wanting to stay remotely.
It is well to remember that we work to live not live to work. All work situations are different as frontline staff had no option but to work away from home. Working from home (WFH) has taught a lot of workers that the high costs in time and money of commuting erode their pay and quality of life. Being able to be at home with family commitments redresses the imbalance of family unfriendly work practices where two salaries have become necessary to fund childcare and high rent/mortgage to live in expensive cities. When employers were forced to facilitate remote working they could albeit grudgingly. Unions in particular need to adopt a what we have we hold and turn contingency into rights based work practices and family friendly flexibility.
One of the issues people seem to ignore is the fact some people moved out of Dublin and let their rentals go. If they do a hybrid they still have to rent a place in Dublin or find a place that the can stay a couple of days. Ideally a place that you can rent for 2 days a week would suit some. That probably is seen like Airbnb so you can’t do that without planning permission. There is now a place for such rentals that actually help with a shortage of rentals
@Craic_a_tower: Rash decision to give up a home without knowing how your employer will react post restrictions?
@Lee King Buckett: It meant a large saving to many people. You may have noticed house prices have risen outside Dublin because many people have made a bigger commitment to work remotely. People moved home to care for family too.
Speaking from what lots of folk have told me the last few months, many want to keep working from home but with flexi hours (not tied to a 9-5). If the need arises to go to the office then they want to do so outside commuter peak. So the key takeaway is that managers need to scrap the 9am all group check in call, do one the day before at 4.
@Jason Walsh: What if 4 doesn’t suit me? ‘flexi’ time can also mean 24/7 on-call.
@v39e84kK: that’s why I used the word ‘before’. It doesn’t mean on-call 24/7 in the slightest.
@Jason Walsh: Just scrap the group check in call (whatever that is for) and trust your employees to get their work done.
Thankfully my employer doesn’t feel the need to check in on us which kind of makes sense considering the fact that we are not children.
It’s better for environment, less cars on road. Never hear green party saying this though as they not really green are they
I’ve been a remote worker 20 years id never go back to the office with people watching your every move.
Hybrid teams will need to connect and collaborate at least once a week. But that can happen on Zoom/Teams as easily as in person. It takes effort, proper tech, and trust that your teams are actually working. It will work if businesses allow it to work.
Hybrid is better than 5 days office
have your say