More and more Gen Z workers want to work from the office to combat the sense of isolation they feel during WFH. 

According to new research released by BUPA, 40% of the youngest cohort of workers say they would prefer to work in the office. 

The figure struck a chord with Newstalk journalist Kathleen Keane who said for most Gen Z people, WFH is difficult because their housing situations are “far from ideal”. 

“You’re living in house shares with four, five other people,” she explained to Newstalk Breakfast. 

“There’s a lack of space; for me personally, I work from my bedroom, I sleep there, I do my makeup there, I do everything in my bedroom. 

“I’m unable to switch off, to be honest; when I finish work, I really, really struggle.” 

A young man WFH. Picture by: Alamy.com.

Ms Keane added that her housemates feel the same and some of them feel they are “struggling”. 

“We all said, ‘God, we all love each other but we don’t need to be together 24 hours of the day’,” she said. 

While WFH may suit older people with long commutes and childcare responsibilities, Ms Keane said she feels they will have benefited from their years working in the office. 

A young mother WFH. Picture by: LightField Studios Inc. / Alamy Stock Photo

“They could watch their mentors, they could see how their colleagues navigated the office or they negotiated certain things,” she argued. 

“Whereas, most of my generation when we came out of college, we were forced into remote work. 

“We were never afforded those opportunities to see the professionalism that’s gone before us. 

“I think you can never learn professionalism through a laptop; you can only learn it through the conversations you have making your coffee or making your tea. 

“There’s an opportunity afforded there, speaking to people from different teams, that you don’t get working from home.” 

According to the 2025 Irish Jobs and Hiring Trends Report, 17.5% of all job adverts on the site explicitly mentioned remote or hybrid working last year - four times the rate before the pandemic.

Main image: A young WFH. Picture by: Alamy.com.