Key Highlights & Conclusions

– Remote work as a labour-retention mechanism: Remote and hybrid arrangements help retain skilled workers by reducing commuting burdens, improving work–life balance and supporting more sustainable employment.

– Different territories, different outcomes: In rural commuter areas such as Laois–Carlow, hybrid work primarily reduces long-distance commuting, while in second-tier cities such as Galway, it strengthens existing regional labour markets and innovation ecosystems.

– Improved wellbeing and residential flexibility: Hybrid work enables knowledge workers to make housing and lifestyle choices based on personal preferences rather than exclusively on workplace proximity.

– Unequal access to flexibility: The benefits of remote work vary depending on occupation, career stage, household circumstances and access to adequate infrastructure.

– Employers as key territorial actors: Organisational policies, office attendance requirements and managerial practices influence where employees can live, how often they commute and whether hybrid arrangements remain viable.

– Stronger local economic and social connections: Reduced commuting can increase workers’ presence in their communities, redistribute spending towards local businesses and encourage greater participation in community life.

– Growing pressures on second-tier cities: In Galway, hybrid work reinforces an established innovation ecosystem but also intensifies challenges related to housing affordability, transport and public services.

– Infrastructure as a determining factor: Reliable broadband, affordable housing, childcare and transport connectivity are essential for making remote and hybrid working sustainable across different territories.

– Limited impact of coworking hubs alone: The home–office model remains dominant, meaning that investments in coworking spaces are unlikely to generate substantial territorial benefits without complementary infrastructure and organisational support.

– Commuting recalibration rather than mass relocation: The main territorial effect of hybrid working is not widespread migration away from cities but reduced commuting frequency and stronger retention of workers within existing labour markets.

– The need for place-sensitive policies: Effective strategies must recognise the distinct characteristics of rural commuter regions and second-tier cities, integrating employment practices, organisational governance and territorial development.

Main takeaway:

Remote and hybrid working can strengthen labour retention, improve wellbeing and support regional development, but they do not automatically lead to territorial decentralisation. Their long-term success depends on coordinated organisational policies, adequate infrastructure and place-sensitive strategies that respond to the specific needs of different regions.