Business

Four out of 10 Irish workers likely to move jobs within a year, study finds

More than half of employees have not used artificial intelligence

The Irish Workforce Hopes and Fears survey, published on Tuesday, records the attitudes to work of 1,000 Irish participants.
Fiona Keeley
Tue Sept 17 2024 - 05:00

Four out of 10 workers in Ireland said they are likely to move jobs within the next 12 months, according to a new study.

PwC’s 2024 Irish Workforce Hopes and Fears survey, published on Tuesday, records the attitudes to work of 1,000 Irish participants along with a global perspective comprising 56,000 individuals from 56 countries.

Suzanne Jeffery, workforce consulting director at PwC Ireland, said strategies to keep employees in the Irish workforce include increased communication and enhanced career development.

The survey showed employees were “craving a culture of feedback where employees feel that they can give their opinion and be heard and, really importantly, that action is taken on the back of that”, she said.

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Some 65 per cent of workers in the State expect artificial intelligence (AI) to allow them to learn new skills, the survey also found.

However, 54 per cent of Irish workers have not used AI tools while working in the last year, compared to the global statistic of 37 per cent.

Ms Jeffery said there were five barriers to the adoption of AI in workplaces: people don’t believe there are opportunities; the workplace does not have access to AI tools; people don’t know how to use AI; people don’t believe AI will benefit careers; or employers will not allow artificial intelligence to be used in work.

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Globally, 72 per cent of participants believed that artificial intelligence would ultimately improve the quality of work produced, however, only 54 per cent of Irish participants shared that opinion. Reservations in the Irish workforce about artificial intelligence included the possibility of giving out misleading information and creating a bias within an organisation.

Stresses about pay were at the forefront of Irish workers’ minds this year with the survey showing 53 per cent plan to ask for a pay rise in the next year.

In a similar vein, some 60 per cent of Irish respondents said they felt the pressures of the cost of living. However, this figure is down from 63 per cent last year.

The percentage of Irish workers with money left over at the end of the month had risen to 39 per cent this year, compared to 35 per cent in 2023.

Some 41 per cent of Irish employees said they have had more work to do within the last 12 months. A faster work rate was reported by 60 per cent of Irish respondents, while 64 per cent said it was important that they had some element of flexibility in their work schedule.

The survey also found that a quarter of Irish respondents said climate change would have an impact on their jobs in the next three years. The figure from global respondents to the survey was 37 per cent.

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