Policies and legislation supporting a healthy work environment with Senator Emer Currie
Welcome to The Work Well Podcast! Today, we welcome Senator Emer Currie. Emer has become a voice for flexible and remote work in the Oireachtas. She left the corporate world when her second child was born, because of a lack of flexible working options. This led her to become more involved with grass roots organisations like Grow Remote and to campaign for flexibility in the workplace.
Emer ran in Local Elections in 2019 securing a seat on the first count and was appointed to the Seanad in 2020 as Fine Gael Spokesperson for Employment Affairs, Work Life Balance and Northern Ireland.
If you’re interested in the recent and imminent employment legislation that’s coming thick and fast through the Oireachtas then you’re about to get an update in our conversation with Senator Emer Currie. I know you’ll enjoy this conversation.
Creating a supportive environment for remote working
It is a fact that the pandemic changed the dynamics of communication and socialisation around the world, including work methods, and while there has been a lot of positive change, there is still room for improvement. Senator Emer Currie tells us that there is, for some, still a blurred gap between personal life and work that has not been clarified.
She believes that remote work should give us more flexibility and more control over our lives, but sometimes it means you work a lot more, and that is why she is actively working to promote laws that facilitate this work-life balance, as well as the development of community co-working spaces for those who prefer to work at a hub and more flexible work options including for, but not limited to, parents.
For Emer, the rights of the worker are really important: “It's the work-life balance, but it is about workers' rights and improving the conditions of workers.”
Is the workload higher, or just the pressure?
This work-life balance gap is what has made workers feel they have to work much harder to prove they are productive and valuable, and the truth is that remote work has proven that you can have focused employees and achieve the same goals in a similar if not shorter period of time.
In Emer's opinion, the old perception of work hard-play hard needs to go. It is a process of adaptation and transition for companies to accept this reality and recognise that the old ways of working no longer work.
Supporting employees in the transition process is an important step
Although many companies adapted quickly to the digital format, there are others that have taken a little longer and it is important to support employers and employees in this process. A key objective is to make sure that someone working full time at home has the same benefits and opportunities as someone who is in the office.
“I want people to look at Ireland and say, Ireland is the best place in the world to do remote work, to live and do remote work because it’s a cause the companies here have adapted to and embraced.” Says Emer.
At this point, remote working is working for most, it just needs investment and the right approach to make it stick and be profitable for everyone.
In Emer’s opinion, we should all have the same opportunities to transform our communities to respond accordingly to this unique opportunity.
If you’d prefer to watch our conversation with Emer you can do so on YouTube through this link.
If you liked this episode, and you'd like to know more about Senator Emer Currie, follow her on LinkedIn, Facebook, or Instagram.
Or contact her through email: emer.currie@oireachtas.ie
About Your Host
Brian Crooke is a wellbeing educator, speaker and adviser, empowering organisations to promote and sustain wellbeing within their workplaces.
He is the founder of The Work Well Institute and the Work Well Community and is Course Director of the Postgraduate Certificate in Workplace Wellness at Tangent, Trinity College Dublin. He is the host of The Work Well Podcast.
If you’re looking to bring sustainable wellbeing to your workplace then check out The Work Well Institute’s flagship programme, Developing a Workplace Wellness Programme that Lasts.
In his spare time, Brian is bringing free resistance training to every county and community in Ireland through his parkHIIT social enterprise.
If you have any suggestions for future topics you'd like to hear on the show, email Brian directly, brian@workwellpodcast.com