Is remote and hybrid work a double edged sword when it comes to employee wellbeing? Yes – both types of work models can potentially hinder or significantly boost employee wellbeing. It is therefore not the operating model itself but it’s how employers implement it.
With recent research underscoring that workplace wellness has never been more important, let’s look at how remote and hybrid employers can get it right for their people!
On Wednesday 30th April 2025, Ireland celebrates National Workplace Wellbeing Day, an opportunity for employers and leaders across the country to take stock, reconnect, and refocus on the supports that help employees thrive.
The programme, led by IBEC, is in fact now the 11th occasion of it in Ireland and it is also Europe’s only day dedicated to workplace wellbeing. Speaking on 28th April 2025, the Chief Executive of IBEC, Danny McCoy, told The Irish Times: “We are now operating in a post-Covid work environment, where discussions on the future of hybrid work and the role of diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives continue to shape workplace wellness.”
At Grow Remote, we believe a key step in improving workplace wellbeing is also reframing how we think about work itself.
Workplace wellbeing refers to the overall physical, mental, and emotional health of employees within their work environment covering job satisfaction, work-life balance, and workplace culture.
So, it’s about how employees feel and how they thrive – not where they do it.
In Ireland, well known and big brand employers like eBay who offer remote and hybrid work and leaders within them – like Siobhán Curtin know the value that remote work and a focus on employee wellbeing can bring to its people and business and local communities 👇
When we remove location from the equation, we can focus fully on what matters: connection, wellbeing, inclusion and meaningful work.
Remote Work and Wellbeing: A Double-Edged Sword?
There’s often a simplistic narrative around remote work:
- “Remote work is great for wellbeing”
- “Remote work is bad for wellbeing”
The truth is more nuanced.
This year’s National Workplace Wellbeing Day theme is “Celebrate Connection” and it reminds us that human connection remains vital, especially in a digital-first world of work, with employees distributed across time zones and continents
At Grow Remote, we know from our relationships with leading remote employers in Ireland and Europe, that remote and hybrid work, has strengthened connection and support wellbeing, rather than erode them. But it is not without its challenges.
First, Let’s Acknowledge the Challenges
Remote work, if poorly managed, can impact wellbeing negatively.
- Gallup’s latest State of the Global Workplace: 2025 Report found that remote workers reported higher rates of loneliness compared to their in-office peers.
- Buffer’s State of Remote Work report consistently cites isolation and difficulties in unplugging as top challenges for remote workers.
- A recent letter to the Irish Times highlighted a specific example of isolation for a remote worker who is only in the office twice a month. Niamh Delmar, a counselling psychologist, explained that “The difficulty with it is the lack of socialising. If people have a big social network at home and in their area, that’s great, but a lot depend on work for that, and they’re not getting that,” she says.
Without intentional structures for connection, remote work can feel isolating. But isolation is not inevitable. It is a workplace wellbeing design challenge to be solved.
So, What’s the Solution?
At Grow Remote, we advocate for designing remote and hybrid employment around connection, community, and choice.
Here are three actionable ways employers can strengthen workplace wellbeing through remote and hybrid work:
1. Invest in Remote Team Retreats
Creating in-person connection opportunities for remote teams is best practice.
Regular team retreats give remote teams the chance to bond, align around shared goals, and build authentic relationships beyond the screen.
Team retreats offer measurable benefits:
- Higher levels of trust and psychological safety
- Stronger collaboration and communication
- Renewed energy and shared purpose
Whether it’s a quarterly meetup or an annual gathering, investing in face-to-face time matters.
We can look to benchmark remote employer DOIST, who recently visited Ireland for one of their global team retreats, to see best practice in their blog post entitled “The 20/30/50 rule for remote team retreats”.
2. Support Co-Working in Local Hubs
Remote work doesn’t have to mean home-only work. Think about “Work From Anywhere” rather than the idea of just work from home if it’s not the office.
Employers can enhance connection by offering co-working stipends and encouraging employees to work occasionally from Ireland’s benchmark ecosystem and national network of digital hubs.
Example: If your hybrid policy allows employees to work remotely three days per week, consider encouraging employees to spend one day per fortnight in a local co-working space.
This creates multiple benefits:
- Social interaction with other remote professionals
- Exposure to new spaces, people, and ideas for productivity gains
- Support for and connection with local people, economies and communities
In the article “Why Coworking Spaces for Hybrid Workers is an SME Win“, Leah Ferman of Connected Hubs says that – “Knowing that your employer values your work/life balance and the importance of flexible working can be a real boost to staff morale, which is a boon for staff retention. In today’s working landscape, prospective employees are drawn to progressive companies that prioritise team wellbeing and that work/life balance. So a happy workforce really is a win for all concerned.”
View Ireland’s Connected Hubs here and explore digital hubs for yourself and your team to support their wellbeing.
3. Build Flexibility and Autonomy Into Work
Remote work offers employees greater control over their work environments and schedules, which directly impacts individuals’ wellbeing.
Remote and flexible working arrangements can lead to:
Research shows that flexible work supports better mental health, reduces stress, and helps employees better manage the demands of life outside of work.
Remote Work Often Supports Wellbeing for Those Who Need It Most
Remote and hybrid work have been particularly transformative for individuals with disabilities by offering flexibility, autonomy, and greater access to work opportunities that were previously out of reach.
The 2021 Employers for Change and The Open Doors Initiative report, The Future of Work and Disability – A Remote Opportunity, correctly points out that remote working can remove barriers such as inaccessible transport, inflexible schedules, and unsuitable office environments, all of which make employment more feasible and sustainable for disabled individuals.
At-home work environments often allow for better management of health conditions, use of assistive technologies, and control over sensory factors like lighting and noise that might affect people with neurodivergence. However, the report also reminds us that remote work should not replace the duty to make physical workplaces inclusive; it should be one option among many to support meaningful, equitable participation.
By embedding flexibility into how, not where, we work, employers can unlock a broader, diverse talent pool and build organisations where everyone thrives.
Follow the Data: Flexibility Supports Wellbeing
The evidence is clear: flexibility is not a perk; it’s a pillar of wellbeing.
A recent IBEC survey of over 1,000 employees found that 68% identified hybrid or flexible work as key to their wellbeing. Employers who ignore flexibility risk losing not only talent but also the chance to build healthier, more sustainable organisations.
Celebrate (and Enable) Connection with Grow Remote
Remote work, when designed with intention and community at its core, is not a threat to workplace wellbeing. Rather, it is a catalyst for it.
In addition to the three actionable ways employers can strengthen workplace wellbeing through remote and hybrid work above, we also invite Irish employers to 👇
1) Join the Grow Remote Community as an employer to share our national social events for remote and hybrid workers across their teams. Events are built to solve the exact challenges defined above and its working.
90%+ of our event attendees have fun and meet with interesting people
70%+ of event attendees feel more connected to their local community
There are options for your team members to join locally as just an attendee or to volunteer as a local leader supported by our community team and community fund. Check out the Community Experience below.
2) Join the next intake group of the fully funded short course training programme “Leading Remote & Hybrid Teams” as an employer to zoom in on things like remote work culture and wellbeing.
It is purpose-built and industry expert led to help solve the challenges of remote and hybrid work. It equips managers with practical skills to lead distributed teams with confidence, engagement, impact – and manage their wellbeing.
🟢 Fully funded training is available through the LOETB scheme for qualifying employers in Ireland.
🔗 Find out more and register your interest here
This National Workplace Wellbeing Day 2025, let’s not just celebrate connection, let’s enable it through intentional, inclusive remote and hybrid work in Ireland.
About Grow Remote – Our mission is to solve the problems of remote work in order to unlock social, economic and environmental change for individuals, employers and local communities.
www.growremote.ie