Exciting Opportunities in Dublin – Bring your Tent!

Pitch the tent lads, we’re going to work in Dublin!

At the rate the housing trend is going in Ireland, more specifically Dublin, this may not be too far from the truth in the near future.

A recent projection from Savills Ireland, has suggested there may be office space for an additional 100,000 workers in Dublin by 2021 and with the projection of new housing at barely one-third of that demand, the question is where are these extra people going to live and how much will it cost?

Rent as of May 2017, has now surpassed Celtic Tiger levels with the average cost now standing at €1784 per month which is a stretch for anybody ‘living’ on the average Dublin wage of €36,519 per annum.

People in the know are calling for increased residential building heights and densities to accommodate people in the city centre to alleviate the strain and urban sprawl that is spreading far and wide. Wexford and Westmeath are now nearly recognised as commuter suburbs of Dublin at this stage.

As I write this, I can see cranes dominating the skyline around the capital and as it was pointed out to me, these are predominantly for commercial developments. These include the recently acquired Capital Dock building by global banking giant JPMorgan Chase for €125m, which is large enough for 1,000 staff not to mention the proposed tallest building in Dublin envisaged by Johnny Ronan.

If this is one of the first signs of Brexit, it doesn’t make for pleasant thoughts for the future of Dublin’s indigenous workforce.

Recently as I was waiting on a friend in the Ferryman on Sir John Rogerson’s Quay, I got chatting to a young American guy who voluntarily transferred from Boston to Dublin by his tech company in search of new experiences.

During the conversation, I asked how he found living in Dublin rent wise and the general cost of living. I was told that he found it expensive but didn’t really know the rent costs because as long as he has been here (4 months) his company has been paying and would be for the foreseeable future.

If that trend continues and the tech companies who dominate ‘Silicon Docks’ in Dublin can just pay the inflated prices for rent in Dublin to the REIT’s (Real Estate Investment Trusts), tents could soon be the only next option!

Patrick

Patrick Jones is an Account Manager in Dublin with Fuzion Communications, Marketing, PR & Graphic Design 

What is “Work Life Balance” to you?

Some people wake up at 6am to get a run or a workout in before they face the day, maybe do some yoga or meditation to start the day in a happier mindset or simply just because they like being up that early.

I wake up at 6am because I need to, to travel to work.

No, I am not complaining, it’s great to be working. I’m just saying that it would be nice to wake up at 6am and not run around my house like a mouse just after escaping the claws of the dreaded mouse trap because I need to get my train.

My point is that as industries grow and businesses get more and more tech savvy our jobs are changing with them. Remote work, sometimes seen as working from home/working from anywhere (depending on the role) is now part of a lot of job descriptions. This got me thinking about how we are now looking for newer ways to go to work and where to work from.

I see people every morning commuting to work on different modes of transport – bus, car, bicycle, moped, skateboard, electric scooter and regular train, bus, walkers like myself! (now I’m complaining!).

As employees, I feel we too (like consumers) are looking for new experiences in our jobs, our work environment and ways to achieve our full potential within our careers and personally, that achieve a positive “WORK LIFE BALANCE”.

The first question we need to ask ourselves is – What does “Work life balance” mean to you?

Someone recently asked me this and I was stumped. I knew I wanted it but what was it? So, I took myself aside and asked myself that very question.

Here’s what I came up with, for me work life balance is a lot of things…….but mainly it is being able to do my job to the best of my ability while having time for myself personally. It’s all about TIME!

There are so many articles telling us that working from home is bad or working from home is good, but I think it depends on the individual, their productivity and also accessibility outside of the office. A recent article from Silicon Republic referred to this luxury as a way of showing employees that the company they work for is flexible and trusts and values them.

So how is working from home a bad thing?

The same article quoted Michelle Hammond, senior lecturer in Occupational Behaviour at University of Limerick referring to the drawbacks of working from home, isolation being one of them. Full-time, I can understand this issue but part-time, isn’t it just that extra hour of rest in bed, the flexibility in the evenings or having more time with the family?

Today, I am grateful for the work from home option since the trains decided to go on an unscheduled strike!

The remote access to my work allows me to do my job (time for a blog post!) in the exact same way as well as not letting down my team and supporting my clients. It also made me feel even more trusted and the flexibility spared me that feeling of always chasing time. I didn’t need to be finished at this time – to get to the next place – to get the Luas on time – to reach my train on time – to get home – Phew!

Everyone’s work, life balance is different and it is very much connected to mindfulness. For that reason, it is important to look at this and ask yourself that question – What does “Work life balance” mean to you?

Arlene

Arlene Foy is an Account Manager with Fuzion PR in our Dublin office.

Greg’s 5 Priorities for Dublin Chamber #GoGreg

As we are doing a lot of work in Dublin and getting more and more involved with Dublin Chamber of Commerce (Greg co-chairs the Business Owners Network that meets every second Friday) Greg decided he would take the next step and try to get even more involved.

He has decided to run for Dublin Chamber Council which would give him and us the opportunity of influencing how the Chamber is run and trying to shape the strategy and direction that it takes about key issues.

While he believes that Dublin Chamber is doing a really good job he feels that it could do even more..

We have taken an extract from his “campaign literature” where he has outlined his pitch including his Top 5 priorities – In his words:

My Pitch!

No 1 – Passionate about Entrepreneurship

I am passionate about start-ups, business ownership and the SME sector and believe that Dublin Chamber should become a natural hub for all activity in this area. I don’t believe this is the case at the moment.

Dublin Chamber was founded by business owners and we should strive to get back to a scenario whereby successful business owners of all sizes are proactive members driving, supporting and encouraging enterprise in Dublin. We need their voices, influence and expertise to start shining through.

Successful entrepreneurs are asked to speak at Dublin Chamber events – we need them as proactive  members!

For my part I have had my own businesses since the age of 13!

No 2- Influence

I believe that Dublin Chamber should have a much bigger voice and influence in how our city and country is run. I hope with more involvement and through my own expertise I can start to support Chamber in communicating our messages even stronger through more use of traditional and digital media.

Also I believe my communications experience and my insights from working closely with some politicians and other key influencers could be of benefit here.

No 3- Fresh Perspective from the ‘Not so shy’ Cork boy!

I admit it, I’m not from Dublin!

While some might hold this against me as being a negative I feel it is a real positive. I operate a business in both Dublin and Cork, spending my time equally between both locations. I believe I offer a unique fresh perspective as a result, which could benefit the Chamber.

No 4 – Destination Branding Insights

I was recently part of the Destination Branding team that created a Brand book for the Cork region with a focus on attracting Irish and foreign direct investment.

The learnings from this process could be quite valuable to Dublin Chamber.

No 5 – Fun

My last point is a very serious one!

While there is serious business to be done I do believe we need to have a much bigger element of fun to the networking and the business of Chamber. In my view the best networking is done in a relaxed atmosphere and when people are enjoying themselves. I always try my best to achieve this and for anyone who attends my Business Owners Network sessions I chair once a month, I hope this is witnessed.

To give you a taste of the fun we have check out the incredible rendition of “White Christmas” that the Business Owners Network managed in December on YouTube!  

For these reasons I am asking the Dublin Chamber members who would like a fresh, challenging and different voice for Dublin Chamber Council to consider me when voting opens on the 18th January.

I am also asking members to also consider voting for David Lafferty, an accountant who runs his own practice and someone who is busy flying the flag for the SME’s and business owners. He is an active member of the Business Owners Network and has worked on the Budget Task Force with the Chamber.

…Well said Greg!

We don’t think he is the worst and from time to time he does come up with the odd good idea so we would ask Dublin Chamber members to support his campaign!

#GoGreg !!

Wake up and smell the hops!

I was enjoying my ‘Dublin Bike’ as I cycled through Dublin city on the way to a new client meeting in The Digital Hub. I did something I had not done for a while.. I stopped for 5 minutes in Merrion Square and looked up!

I was so busy in my head thinking about the clever rebrand we had completed for our client and planning the meeting, that I was totally unaware of my surroundings.  We are all so busy being busy, on our computers, phones and mobiles and working towards deadlines and keeping all our fantastic clients happy, that we forget to stop,  look and think.

I noticed the wonderful buildings and carefully crafted roofs and pillars that I had never seen before and thought about the rich emotional Irish history and all the folk that walked on those streets before us. My colleague Greg used to work at the Guinness Brewery at St.James Gate and at offices right on the same site as the Digital Hub, not knowing that Fuzion was coming down the line.

As I walked into the meeting I made a promise to myself that I would become more aware – aware of my team and their experiences and how we can share and work together for our clients. All the meetings, brainstorms and Google hangouts have added to the rich tapestry of experience that our team has. We all have a fusion of feelings, experiences, interests and personality types to bring to the table for our clients and this makes for a really creative dynamic where literally anything can happen and great ideas can come from any brainstorm.

This new level of awareness made me listen even more at the meeting and learn from our clients, who are being really bold and brave about their new branding.

The meeting went well, and Greg gave me a lift back to the office, nah it was in his car, enough bike riding for one day!

That was a really happy ‘aware’ day  

#WinHappy

Aisling White 

Aisling White is an Account Director with Fuzion PR, Marketing and Graphic Design based in our office in Dublin, Ireland