Meet the Remote Workers Who Are Changing Ireland
“I met people who live nearby that I had never met before.” – Grow Remote event attendee, 2025
Remote Work Is Here to Stay – More Volunteering!
Grow Remote firmly believes in the power of remote employment to transform communities. The social, economic and environmental impact has been well documented and we are excited by what the future holds. As a grassroots community organisation, we also understand the power of local volunteering. Indeed, local leaders are the only way to nurtures any movement. In this blog, we interview some of Grow Remote’s volunteers who are responsible for our amazing community impact.
Given the high rate of flexible recruitment in Ireland today – 40% of Linkedin listings are remote or hybrid – and the prevalence of remote operating models (70% of Irish companies in 2025 have no intention to bring people back into the office, according to CIPD’s May report), it is clear that remote work is here to stay – but what are the risks?
Ireland is a European leader in remote employment. This clear, nationwide commitment to remote work continues to strengthen, according to the growing data trends and research on the topic. In the recent CIPD report, published in May 2025, an overwhelming 75% of organisations say that flexible or hybrid working improves both employee productivity and wellbeing. However, remote work is not without its challenges.
In an Ireland where remote and hybrid work is now the norm, one of the biggest challenges facing remote workers is loneliness. According to the 2025 Gallup report, while fully-remote employees report higher engagement, they also face:
- 27% higher likelihood of feeling lonely daily
- 45% report frequent stress
- 25% experience daily anger — higher than hybrid (17%) or office-based workers
These are serious challenges. Grow Remote is helping to address the issue and seeks to change the experience of remote workers from isolation to inclusion, connection and community. We do this through our grassroots, chapter-based model and we rely on remote working volunteers at the local level.
Recent census data shows that remote workers are especially likely to actively give back to their community. In 2024, Volunteer Ireland reported that almost 1 in 4 remote workers actively volunteers. Our community model supports remote workers to become volunteer local leaders by running social events for other remote and hybrid employees in their local communities.
Impact of the Grow Remote Community
💪 In 2025 so far:
- 77+ Local Leaders are volunteering their time to run community-building events for remote workers
- In 2024, volunteers hosted 314 events across Ireland, Portugal, and the UK
- Over 100 social connection events have been led in just the first five months of 2025
And the impact is real:
- 100% of Grow Remote event attendees so far in 2025 have said they “met interesting people and had fun”
- 86% agreed that they felt “more connected to their local community” after attending a Grow Remote event
✨ Meet the Volunteers Powering Local Connection
We spoke to 4 of our Local Leaders to explore how remote work empowers them to give back and how their volunteering is reshaping their communities.
🏡 Remote Work: The Gateway to Volunteering
“Less time commuting means more time to volunteer on projects close to my heart,” says Aisling Finucane, our local leader in Cloughjordan, Co. Tipperary.
Kristin Vaik – Grow Remote local leader in Castlerea, Co. Roscommon – agrees, highlighting that working from home enables her to participate in local events easily, without sacrificing energy or time:
“I am woking full-time from my home office, which means I am at home and in my village more than 95% of my time. Spending so much time at home pushes me to get out of the house and it also has made me understand how community, those people who are living near to me as well as the environment where I am spending so much time in are important for my wellbeing. That has created in me the motivation to give back and to get out and to do something.”
Vicky Day in Waterford shares that remote work gives her time and energy to volunteer in her local community:
“My base office is in Dublin but I live in rural Co. Waterford, so remote work means I don’t lose several hours each day to commuting. That’s allowed me to volunteer with Grow Remote, a local arts group and Remote Work Europe.“
“Nice people — and no other way to meet people who work from home around here.” Grow Remote event attendee, 2025
🌟 Moments That Matter
“Even a single “thank you” is enough to reaffirm my belief that creating opportunities for community connection is both valuable and necessary,” says Susan Cabezas in Cloughjordan.
Vicky Day tells the story of one of her most meaningful Grow Remote moments:
“Last year one of our Grow Remote events was a community cooking evening. One of our community members hosted the event in her home, everyone brought along ingredients and helped with the cooking before we all sat down to eat together. A couple had never been to a Grow Remote event before and discovered they lived just across the road from the host!”
Kristin recalls:
“During one of the grow remote meetups couple of us came to an idea of organising a pop-up chess morning for people to come together and play chess. The next morning I visited our local library and asked if we could do it the event in there and they agreed. Two days later I had posters made and advertising in fb up. Two weeks later, the event happened and more than 30 people showed up – we were thinking maybe 5-6 will come and it would be enough. That moment, facilitating the games and setting up boards and seeing all those children and grown-ups playing chess and having smiles on their faces made me feel, that I was doing something important.“
“The Gorey meetups are mainly around brunch, which means I can attend with my husband — and we’ve discovered great cafes and new friends.” – Grow Remote Gorey event attendee, 2025
🚀 Growing Through Giving
Volunteering with Grow Remote isn’t just community service — it’s a personal accelerator.
Kristin says,
“I have built the courage to start something. I know the basics of organising a community events, I know what it takes and I know that when I see an opportunity, I am able to make it happen.“
Aisling learned to stop second-guessing herself:
“I’ve developed the confidence to just do it anyway. I can overthink things and I have realised that things have a way of working out if you just go for it!”
For Vicky, being a Local Leader has been a great way to develop professional skills:
“The support from the Grow Remote team has been fantastic and it’s been a great opportunity to develop skills in event planning, community building and social media management.“
Susan focuses more on the personal and social benefits it has offered:
“Volunteering with Grow Remote for over two years has helped me improve my social skills and connect with new people, even though I’m naturally more introverted. I truly enjoy seeing people come together and have a good time. Along the way, I’ve also learned to use tools like Eventbrite, Canva, and others to support our events.”
“Great time connecting with other remote workers while doing something positive for the community.” – Grow Remote event attendee, 2025
🌱 Impact in Local Communities
From Gorey to Galway. Donegal to Dingle, volunteers are seeing change at the street level.
“I have seen people making new friends and connections in the community,” says Kristin. “They’re getting more knowledgeable about remote and hybrid working and taking part of wider community events.”
Susan acknowledges that a grassroots movement takes time to embed in the community.
“I’d say we’re still in the early stages of establishing Grow Remote within the community. However, I’ve been surprised by the number of people from outside Cloughjordan who have joined us and shared such positive feedback. I also see growing interest from others who want to learn more about remote work.”
🙌 Want to Join the Movement?
Thinking about becoming a Local Leader or volunteer? Here’s the advice from our current leaders:
“Give it a go! You do need to commit time and energy to being a Local Leader but it’s well worth it and very rewarding.” – Vicky Day, Grow Remote Waterford
“I’d say it’s a great opportunity to give back to your community while feeling truly rewarded for your time and commitment. On top of that, there’s an incredible support network always ready to help. Most of all, it’s about being part of an amazing community where you can learn, meet new people, and have fun while doing something meaningful.” – Susan Cabezas, Grow Remote Cloughjordan
“It is definitely worth a try. You will meet some amazing people. You will learn as you go along and there is biles of help and support in the wider local leader community, you just need to open your mouth and ask.” – Kristin Vaik, Grow Remote Castlerea
“Do it!” – Aisling Finucane, Grow Remote Cloughjordan
🔗 Let’s Grow Community, Together
Ready to connect remote workers in your town or village? Become a part of Ireland’s most human remote work movement.
👉 Join our monthly Welcome Session to find out more about volunteering with Grow Remote
