Irish workers considering new career paths, as AI reshapes work, finds Microsoft

A new report released by Microsoft Ireland on 10 September reveals how AI is transforming workplace expectations and experiences for Irish employees. The 2026 Work Trend Index, conducted in collaboration with 3Gem, surveyed 1,000 nationally representative adults in Ireland, including casual, part-time, frontline, and knowledge workers.

The report found that nearly half (48%) of the participants have changed employers in the past year, a figure up from 38% in 2025. Additionally, 47% of professionals believe AI is making them reconsider their career path, up from 34% last year.

Despite optimism surrounding AI's potential, with 76% of participants believing it offers Ireland a major economic opportunity, and 61% of respondents seeing AI skills as critical for career progression, concerns exist among 60% of people who fear falling behind if they don't adapt quickly enough. Furthermore, 13% of respondents are considering changing employers if there is insufficient access to advanced AI tools.

Despite 57% of participants identifying where AI agents could help in their role and 48% using AI agents regularly, organizations are struggling to keep up. Only 40% of contributors feel they have received enough AI training or guidance, and less than half believe their employers provide the necessary tools and resources. Moreover, only 48% of workers find that leadership expectations around AI use are clear.

The report suggests that Ireland's AI opportunity is not limited by employee appetite but rather by how quickly organizations can translate enthusiasm into practical capability, trusted adoption, and business value. The study identified that 65% of employees are open to new ideas and ways of working with AI, 89% believe AI has improved the quality of their work, and 65% treat AI output as a starting point while remaining responsible for the final work.

However, leadership is seen as crucial in converting employee interest into confident adoption. Only 51% of workers feel their leadership is in tune with their needs, while fewer than half of managers actively use AI, encourage adoption, or support experimentation.

Catherine Doyle, general manager at Microsoft Ireland, emphasized that Ireland's workforce is adapting quickly to a changing world of work, with people developing new future-ready skills and exploring AI's potential in their roles. The challenge now, she stated, is for organizations to keep pace with this momentum and turn AI adoption into meaningful value by building organizational capability, strengthening governance, security, and redesigning work around better outcomes.