From maternity leave queries to work from home policies: Submit your work-related questions hereOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n\u201cThere\u2019s a massive difference between Generation X [born late \u201860s to early \u201880s] and Generation Z [born late \u201890s to early 21st century].\u201d The latter are \u201ctaking their sabbaticals, they all want to travel, and they\u2019re unconcerned about length of service\u201d, she says. <\/p>\n
Noting a continuing \u201cpush\u201d from employers for increased time in the office, she says the issue of remote working, and the conflict that push can bring, will continue to be \u201ccontentious\u201d.<\/p>\n
Damien McCarthy, founder and chief executive of consultancy firm HR Buddy, says one of the most significant developments this year will be reviews of the right to request remote working.<\/p>\n
A public consultation, the first part of a three-stage review due to be completed by March, was launched late last year and drew more than 8,000 submissions.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe review is looking at potential issues like the grounds for refusal, the impact on different employee groups, and the overall administrative burden,\u201d McCarthy says.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe results will be very interesting to see what direction we are going in with regards to remote working in this country \u2013 something that is pivotal to our competitiveness as an island nation that will always seek to retain and attract foreign direct investment,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
Separately, McCarthy says racially motivated workplace grievances are \u201cunfortunately on the rise\u201d.<\/p>\n
Having seen an increase in such grievances, he says diversity and inclusion education is \u201cas important as ever\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cI would be worried that wider societal issues and divisive social media content are driving an anger or resentment that is now manifesting itself in workplaces.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is nasty and extremely difficult for employers and employees to deal with,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
He also points to AI being a prominent issue this year, saying workplaces will be forced to navigate it, \u201cwhether it is for the betterment of their organisation or to their detriment\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cTraining and having robust workplace policies in place that are not generic and match the specific AI needs of your workplace and your people in 2026 is a critical issue for any business,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
Breda Dooley, head of recruitment at Matrix Recruitment, says AI will continue to be adopted across all work streams and sectors this year, with many roles being \u201credesigned\u201d as a consequence.<\/p>\n
\u201cRoutine tasks are being automated, and employers are prioritising professionals who can analyse data, make informed decisions and adapt quickly as systems evolve,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n
While the Irish jobs market is not shrinking, it is \u201ctransforming\u201d, she says.<\/p>\n
\u201cThose who evolve with it will be best placed to grow in the year ahead.\u201d<\/p>\n
On jobseekers, Dooley says the strongest opportunities this year will be for those who can combine technical expertise with strong communication skills, adaptability and commercial awareness.<\/p>\n
The organisations that succeed in 2026 will be those that focus on retention, upskilling and building resilient teams, \u201crather than simply hiring external talent\u201d, Dooley says.<\/p>\n
Separately, she expects salaries across most sectors to remain in line with 2025 levels, though Matrix Recruitment is predicting increases of between 3 and 6 per cent for in-demand roles.<\/p>\n
This could rise to between 8 and 10 per cent in sectors facing persistent skills shortages, she says.<\/p>\n
Engineering and sustainability will be the \u201cstandout growth areas\u201d, she says, as demand for candidates in engineering remains strong due to continued investment across pharma, medtech, infrastructure and energy.<\/p>\n
Sustainability and environmental roles, however, are seeing the fastest salary growth, as companies prepare for stricter environmental, social and governance (ESG) and EU reporting requirements.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, contract and interim roles are expected to increase this year, Dooley says, with many organisations choosing these over permanent hires to access specialist skills quickly and to maintain flexibility.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe appeal of the \u2018gig economy\u2019 is growing amongst professionals, particularly those in mid to senior roles who value flexibility, higher earning potential, and the opportunity to build a diverse portfolio of experience,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n
If you have work-related questions, from how to deal with burnout to running your own business, The Irish Times Work Q&A column is here to help. You can use the form below to submit your question. Please limit your submissions to 400 words or less and please include a phone number. Your name and contact details will be confidential and only be used for verification purposes. Any details about your employer will also be anonymised.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A \u201ccultural clash\u201d with Gen Z employees, redesigned roles due to AI and an increase in racially motivated…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":304099,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[72,61,60,1962,4496,143483],"class_list":{"0":"post-304098","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-business","8":"tag-business","9":"tag-ie","10":"tag-ireland","11":"tag-work","12":"tag-work-from-home","13":"tag-work-q-a"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/304098","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=304098"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/304098\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/304099"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=304098"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=304098"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=304098"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}