'Huge invasion of privacy' - majority of workers against webcams in workplace

A large majority of workers would not be comfortable turning on their webcams while working from home, if requested to do so by their employer, a new survey has found. 

Almost four in ten (39pc) workers would choose a higher-paid job over a job which allowed them to work from home, while more than one in three (35pc) would choose the job that allowed them to work from home.

Furthermore, remote working is more important to female workers in Ireland than their male counterparts.

These are some of the findings of a survey commissioned by employee benefit and pension specialists Lockton Ireland. Three in four survey respondents (74pc) said they would not be comfortable turning on their webcam while working from home if requested by their employer to do so – with almost half saying they would refuse to turn such a device on as they would consider it a ‘huge invasion of privacy’.

The Lockton survey, which polled more than 700 workers nationwide, also found big geographical differences around attitudes towards webcams – with people in some counties much more relaxed than others about a request by an employer to turn on a webcam during the working day.

The counties with least opposition were Leitrim and Kilkenny, with more than seven out of ten of people there saying they would have “no problem” turning on a webcam.

Carlow and Donegal were also amongst the most tolerant counties in this regard – with 67pc of Carlow people and 62pc of Donegal people happy to turn the device on.

The counties with the people most opposed to turning on webcams for work were Cavan, Laois, Louth, Monaghan, Roscommon, Sligo and Wicklow – with none of the inhabitants here stating they would have “no problem” with a webcam.

All people living in Wicklow believe that employees should have a right to work from home – if the job can be completed remotely, according to this survey. This means Wicklow is the county with the strongest support for the right to work from home, followed by Kildare (90pc of those polled said people should have an entitlement to work remotely), Donegal (81pc) and Dublin (78pc).

Commenting on the findings, Tom Curran, Head of Wellbeing with Lockton Ireland, said: "Our research shows just how important working-from-home (WFH) has become to so many people – and within such a short timeframe too. The WFH trend was the biggest change to hit the world of work in decades, perhaps centuries. New Census 2022 data just released reports that 750,000 people in Ireland, which is a third of workers work from home for at least some part of their week. This movement has completely transformed how people work.

"However, with any new departure in the working landscape comes challenges and pitfalls that both employers and employees need to be aware of. While WFH gives employees a greater degree of flexibility, it can also blur the lines between home and worklife. And this is something that all parties need to be cognisant of.

"This survey shows that despite the strong support for the WFH option, less than one in seven (16pc) people would be prepared to turn on a webcam at the request of their employer – even if failure to do so would prevent them from being able to work from home. It shows just how uncomfortable the thought makes Irish workers," Mr Curran said. 

Additional highlights from the Lockton survey include:

More women than men would have no problem with a request to turn on a webcam (30pc versus 21pc) – with those aged 55 and older the more likely age cohort to have no problem with this term of employment (47pc versus 20pc of those aged between 35 and 44).

44pc of people aged 25-34 would opt for the higher salary if they had a choice between a job with a higher salary and a lower-paid WFH job. This compares to 22pc of those in the 35-44 age bracket – perhaps a suggestion that people of this age have young families, so their priorities have changed in terms of what they need from their job, making them more likely to choose the WFH option.

Men were more likely to choose a higher-paid office-based job than a lower-paid WFH job – with 44pc of men saying they would opt for the job that paid the higher salary. Just over one in three women (35pc) said they would choose the higher-paid job.

Mr. Curran commented: "Almost four in ten female respondents said they would choose workplace flexibility over a higher salary. This is a clear indication of just how instrumental that option could be when it comes to keeping women in the workplace.

"More needs to be done to encourage and facilitate female participation in the labour force. Currently about 60pc of females are in the workplace - compared to 71pc of males. The barriers for female participation in the workplace are well documented. The cost of early childhood education and childcare in Ireland is one of the highest in the EU.

"To ensure women have equal opportunities in the workplace, it is crucial that employers at least consider the WFH option for all employees, where those jobs can be completed from home. This would also give more men the opportunity to work from home too, should they wish to – which will also help level the gender playing field around childcare and work opportunities," Mr Curran said.