The report found that nearly half of Irish respondents are considering moving jobs in the next year in search of upskilling opportunities.
A survey published today (17 September) by professional services firm PwC has found that rising workloads, cost-of-living pressures and AI skills deficits are among the top concerns held by employees this year. There is also some uncertainty among employees regarding the level of impact the climate crisis will have on working life.
PwC’s Irish Workforce Hopes and Fears Survey 2024 was part of a larger study that took information from more than 56,000 employees in 50 countries, including 1,000 based in Ireland. The report highlighted that Irish respondents are very aware of competing job opportunities, as well as the need to upskill in certain technologies, amid heightened workplace uncertainty.
Two-fifths of Irish respondents said they are likely to switch jobs in the next 12 months due to an increase in their workload, with 60pc of people explaining that the pace of change at work has accelerated greatly.
Finances and cost-of-living pressures were raised as topics of concern. Nearly two-thirds of Irish respondents said they are under financial strain. Moreover, more than half of Irish respondents and 63pc of global employees said they will likely request a salary increase in the next 12 months.
“When it comes to the financial stresses on employees, business leaders and HR should focus on ways in which corporate wellbeing programmes have a financial wellness component,” said Susanne Jeffery, PwC Ireland director and workforce consultant. “Financial stress can have a highly negative impact on an employee.”
Upskilling is key
Nearly a third (27pc) of Irish respondents predict they will have to undergo significant upskilling in the next five years, as the parameters of their roles change. However nearly a quarter of Irish employees stated that their employer is not providing them with adequate opportunities to upskill.
This is especially relevant as 73pc of Irish respondents said that any decision to stay with their current employer or switch to a new one would be influenced by the opportunity to learn new skills, and this figure stood at 77pc globally.
Certainly, generative AI is having and will likely continue to have an impact on working people globally, with more than two-thirds of Irish respondents believing that it will create opportunities to learn new skills at work. However, more than half (54pc) Irish respondents said that they had not used generative AI tools at work in the last year, a statistic that is significantly higher than that of their global counterparts at 37pc.
In relation to the climate crisis and the impact it will have on working life, a quarter of Irish respondents are of the opinion that it will significantly affect their role in the next three to five years. The figure is higher globally at 37pc. There is some concern that there will be health and safety issues as well as the need to upskill. A quarter of Irish respondents believe the crisis will create new job opportunities, with 34pc of people globally feeling this way.
“With four out of 10 Irish employees saying that they are likely to consider a change of employer in the year ahead, the priority for employers is to engage with their employees along with providing as many opportunities for them to develop their skills in order to retain their key talent,” said Gerard McDonough, PwC Ireland partner and workforce consultant.
“As workers face heightened uncertainty, rising workloads and ongoing financial stress, they are prioritising skills growth. Still more needs to be done by employers to fully embrace new and emerging technologies such as GenAI to turbocharge the growth and accelerate their employees’ careers.”
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