Cash and AI key points in PwC World Workforce Hopes and Fears survey

The report highlights how Irish individuals really feel about rising work developments and threats.

Skilled companies agency PwC has launched the findings of the PwC 2025 World Workforce Hopes and Fears survey, wherein it explored latest developments among the many workforce worldwide. What was found is that quite a lot of key developments, each constructive and damaging, are impacting the panorama, for instance AI adoption, monetary pressure and the rising abilities divide. 

Whereas the every day use of generative AI instruments and brokers (GenAI) was discovered to be low amongst Irish respondents, at solely 10pc and 3pc respectively, PwC’s survey did point out that those that use AI at work reported being extra productive (67pc). The Irish AI customers additionally said that they discovered the standard of labor to have improved (64pc) and that their creativity had elevated (55pc).  

There’s nonetheless, as said by the report, vital room for the progress of AI use at work.

Commenting on the survey, Laoise Mullane, director and AI adoption lead for PwC Eire, mentioned, “The way forward for work is already being formed by AI, and the most important positive factors are going to those that are embracing it now. 

“We’re seeing groups change into quicker and extra inventive, however the actual alternative isn’t nearly making current processes extra environment friendly, it’s about rethinking how work will get finished altogether. To actually unlock AI’s potential, organisations want to maneuver past pilots and course of enhancements, and most significantly, spend money on upskilling all of their individuals.”

Discovering steadiness

In line with PwC, whereas organisations are investing within the upskilling of the workforce so as to keep abreast of latest and rising applied sciences, the report exhibits that employer upskilling efforts are uneven. 

Simply 57pc of taking part Irish staff had been discovered to have entry to the educational and improvement sources they want at work and fewer than half (49pc) mentioned their staff treats failure as a chance to foster a tradition of progress and studying.  

The results of elevated monetary pressure had been additionally discovered to have emerged as an space of concern for 59pc of Irish staff, having solely improved by one proportion level on final 12 months’s determine. Solely 45pc of Irish contributors acquired a pay rise within the final 12 months and solely 11pc had been promoted. 

Ger McDonough, a associate at workforce advisory observe for PwC Eire, added, “Employees thrive after they perceive the plan – alignment with management sees motivation rise by 78pc. In a 12 months of continued monetary pressure and lots of employees feeling overwhelmed, leaders should redesign work and supply readability and confidence: easy on a regular basis use circumstances, robust guardrails and the abilities, belief and assist that flip AI from hype into actual assist.” 

PwC surveyed 1,018 employees in Eire in a survey that was carried out in late summer season 2025.

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