Irish workers pursue innovation amid workplace change

A significant shift is emerging in Ireland’s workforce, with a third of employees applying to more innovative companies, according to a survey by Auxilion. While salary (54%), career progression (40%), and opportunity (35%) remain top motivators for leaving, nearly a fifth (19%) explicitly cite a lack of innovation.

The survey of 1,000 office workers also reveals a disconnect between perception and practice. While 57% of organisations actively solicit employee feedback on innovation projects, 33% of workers feel their companies are not truly innovative. Encouragingly, 62% report that employee-led innovation is supported, and 65% confirm regular adoption of new technologies, signalling progress in embedding forward-thinking practices.

Transformation programmes are increasingly common, with almost half (49%) of organisations undergoing restructuring or technology rollouts in the past year, and 41% currently engaged in change initiatives. However, such change is not without disruption: 49% of workers find large-scale change unsettling, while redundancies over the last year affected 34% of respondents. Job security, workload increases, and reduced autonomy remain the leading employee concerns.

Leadership decisions during these periods of change are under scrutiny. Only half of workers feel involved in change-related decisions, and 31% lack trust in senior leaders’ ability to manage transitions effectively. Poor communication, lack of staff involvement, and rushed decisions top the list of leadership missteps.

Eleanor Dempsey, Director of Strategy, Innovation and Transformation at Auxilion, emphasises that companies must invest in technology, automation, and structured change management processes. Such initiatives can not only retain talent but also drive sustained innovation and organisational resilience.

For deeper insights into the survey findings, read the full article here.