Irish Working Life Consumer Report 2023
£ 1,495 (Excl.Tax)
Report Summary
“The disruption of the COVID-19 pandemic to the employment market revealed opportunities to refresh the working arrangement of many consumers, with a shift to remote working during the pandemic having a lasting impact through hybrid working, which many consider to be a more flexible and accommodating way of working. This, in turn, has revealed more opportunities for organisations to cater to the convenience needs of their employees in order to retain and grow their workforce.”
– Rebecca Blenman, Research Analyst
This Report looks at the following areas:
- The impact of the conflict in Ukraine and the cost-of-living crisis on the employment market.
- How consumers are adapting to hybrid working.
- The impact of labour shortages on the IoI job market.
- How consumers feel about working from home and working out of the home.
- Consumers’ attitudes and behaviours towards working.
Table of Contents
-
Overview
- What you need to know
- Key issues covered in this Report
- COVID-19: market context
- Covered in this Report
- What you need to know
-
Executive Summary
-
- The market
- The five-year outlook for employment and working life
- Figure 1: Outlook for employment and working life, 2023-28
- The rate of unemployment has declined
- Figure 2: Monthly unemployment rate (%), NI and RoI, February 2020-February 2023
- Consumers’ weekly earnings have increased annually
- Figure 3: Average weekly earnings (€), RoI, Q1 2021-Q4 2022
- Figure 4: All persons’ mean weekly wage (£), NI, 2018-21
- The impact of the conflict in Ukraine and cost-of-living crisis
- Figure 5: “Have you been affected by any of these issues over the last two months?”, IoI, 2022-23
- How consumers are adapting to hybrid working
- Figure 6: Top three words consumers associate with working from home, NI and RoI, 2023
- How labour shortages are affecting the IoI job market
- Innovations
- The consumer
- Working from the office returns to pre-pandemic levels
- Figure 7: Where consumers typically work, NI and RoI, 2023
- The work commute typically lasts 30 minutes or less
- Figure 8: Length of consumers’ work commute, NI and RoI, 2023
- Around half of consumers take half an hour for lunch
- Figure 9: Length of lunch/main break at work – NET, NI and RoI, 2023
- Figure 10: Lunch/main break activities, NI and RoI, 2023
- Working from home is considered flexible and accommodating
- Figure 11: Words that consumers associate with working from home, NI and RoI, 2023
- Working out of the home is thought of as productive but tiring
- Figure 12: Words that consumers associate with working out of the home, NI and RoI, 2023
- Over a quarter of consumers do not plan to look for a new job
- Figure 13: Likelihood that consumers will look for a new job in the next 12 months, NI and RoI, 2023
- Diversity and inclusion are important in the workplace
- Figure 14: Consumer attitudes and behaviours towards work, NI and RoI, 2023
- What we think
-
-
The Market – Key Takeaways
- The rate of unemployment has declined
- Consumers’ weekly earnings have increased annually
- The impact of the conflict in Ukraine and cost-of-living crisis
- How consumers are adapting to hybrid working
- How labour shortages are affecting the IoI job market
- The rate of unemployment has declined
-
Market Drivers
- The five-year outlook for employment and working life
- Figure 15: Outlook for employment and working life, 2023-28
- The rate of unemployment has declined
- Figure 16: Monthly unemployment rate (%), NI and RoI, February 2020-February 2023
- Consumers’ weekly earnings have increased annually
- Figure 17: Average weekly earnings (€), RoI, Q1 2021-Q4 2022
- Figure 18: All persons’ mean weekly wage (£), NI, 2018-21
-
- Figure 19: Consumer Price Index (all goods), UK (including NI) and Ireland, 2021-23
- The impact of the conflict in Ukraine and the cost-of-living crisis
- Figure 20: “Have you been affected by any of these issues over the last two months?”, IoI, 2022-23
- How consumers are adapting to hybrid working
- Figure 21: Top three words consumers associate with working from home, NI and RoI, 2023
- How labour shortages are affecting the IoI job market
- The five-year outlook for employment and working life
-
Innovation – Key Takeaways
- Success of the four-day work week
- Companies improving inclusivity practices
- Increased attention paid to employees’ mental wellbeing
- Reducing the gender pay gap
- Success of the four-day work week
-
Innovations
-
- The four-day work week trial proves a success
-
- Figure 22: “How do you prioritise the time you spend on each of the following activities?”, IoI, 2023
- Ensuring inclusivity
- Mental health in the workplace
- Ireland’s gender pay disparity
- Figure 23: Selected key factors driving consumer behaviours around rights and surroundings, IoI, 2023
-
-
The Consumer – Key Takeaways
- Working from the office returns to pre-pandemic levels
- The work commute typically lasts 30 minutes or less
- Around half of consumers take half an hour for lunch
- Working from home is considered flexible and accommodating
- Working out of the home is thought of as productive but tiring
- Over a quarter of consumers do not plan to look for a new job
- Diversity and inclusion is important in the workplace
- Working from the office returns to pre-pandemic levels
-
Working Locations
-
- Working from the office has returned to pre-pandemic levels
- Figure 24: Where consumers typically work, NI and RoI, 2023
- More consumers are working from home than they did pre-pandemic
- Figure 25: Consumers who worked at home before, during and after the COVID-19/coronavirus outbreak, NI and RoI, 2020
- NI men are more likely to work from the office
- Figure 26: Consumers who work in an office, by gender, NI, 2023
-
- Figure 27: Consumers who work at a school, medical institution or other public facility, by gender, NI and RoI, 2020 and 2023
-
-
Length of Commute
-
- Most consumers have a commute of 30 minutes or less
- Figure 28: Length of consumers’ work commute, NI and RoI, 2023
- Women have a shorter commute
- Figure 29: Consumers whose work commute is less than 30 minutes, by gender, NI and RoI, 2023
-
- Figure 30: Agreement with the statement ‘Changes to my working habits have seen me question my need for a car’, by gender, NI and RoI, 2022
- Highly affluent consumers travel for longer
- Figure 31: Consumers whose work commute takes less than 30 minutes or 30 minutes to an hour, by socio-economic status, NI and RoI, 2023
-
- Figure 32: Consumers who have been affected by increases in prices of petrol/diesel/gasoline, by financial situation, IoI, 2023
-
-
Length of Main Break and Break Activities
-
- Approximately half of IoI consumers take less than 30 minutes for lunch
- Figure 33: Length of lunch/main break at work – NET, NI and RoI, 2023
- Men take a longer break
- Figure 34: Consumers who take less than 30 minutes or 30 minutes to an hour for their lunch/main break, by gender, NI and RoI, 2023
- Eating lunch is the top priority for most while on break
- Figure 35: Lunch/main break activities, NI and RoI, 2023
-
- Figure 36: Selected key factors driving consumer behaviours around technology, NI and RoI, 2023
- City residents tend to go out to buy and eat food
- Figure 37: Differences in where/how consumers eat during their lunch/main break, by area of residence, NI and RoI
-
- Figure 38: Consumers who eat breakfast at home every day, by area, NI and RoI, 2023
- Full-time employees are more likely to exercise on their break
- Figure 39: Consumers who exercise during their lunch/main break, by working situation, NI and RoI, 2023
-
- Figure 40: Reasons for exercising, NI and RoI, 2022
-
-
Words Associated with Working from Home
-
- Consumers link flexibility and accommodating with at-home working
- Figure 41: Words that consumers associate with working from home, NI and RoI, 2023
- Older consumers tend to find working from home lonely
- Figure 42: Consumers who associate working from home with the word lonely, by age, NI and RoI, 2023
- Figure 43: Consumers who associate ‘healthy’ and ‘fun’ with working from home, by age, NI and RoI, 2023
- Working from home is the more flexible option for NI consumers who live in rural locations
- Figure 44: Consumers who associate ‘flexible’ with working from home, by area, NI, 2023
-
- Figure 45: Consumers who visited their most frequented shopping location because of ease of access, by area, NI and RoI, 2022
-
-
Words Associated with Working Out of Home
-
- Consumers find working out of the home productive but tiring
- Figure 46: Words that consumers associate with working out of the home, NI and RoI, 2023
- Figure 47: Consumers who associate ‘distracting’ with working from home and working out of home, NI and RoI, 2023
- Younger consumers tend to find working onsite tiring and expensive
- Figure 48: Consumers who associate working out of the home with tiring and expensive, by age, NI and RoI, 2023
-
- Figure 49: Consumers who struggle to get enough sleep on the days they work, by age, NI and RoI, 2020
- Highly affluent consumers are more likely to make negative associations with working out of the home
- Figure 50: Consumers who associate working out of the home with the words tiring, expensive and distracting, by socio-economic status, NI and RoI, 2023
-
- Figure 51: Consumers who aimed to save/invest a certain amount of money over the last 12 months, by socio-economic status, NI and RoI, 2023
-
-
Likelihood of New Job Search
-
- Over a quarter of consumers are unlikely to look for a new job
- Figure 52: Likelihood that consumers will look for a new job in the next 12 months, NI and RoI, 2023
-
- Figure 53: Employment by job tenure, Ireland, 2019-21
- Older consumers are very unlikely to search for a new role
- Figure 54: Consumers who are unlikely or likely to look for a new job in the next 12 months, by age, NI and RoI, 2023
-
- Figure 55: Consumers who have the same job as they did before the pandemic (ie before March 2020), IoI, 2023
- Consumers in a good financial position are very unlikely to change jobs
- Figure 56: Consumers who are unlikely to look for a new job in the next 12 months, NI and RoI, 2023
-
- Figure 57: Selected key factors driving consumer behaviour around value, IoI, 2023
-
-
Consumer Attitudes and Behaviours towards Working
-
- Consumers value diversity and inclusion from their employer
- Figure 58: Consumer attitudes and behaviours towards work, NI and RoI, 2023
-
- Figure 59: Selected key factors driving consumer behaviour surrounding identity and rights, IoI, 2023
- Men have less balance between work and life
- Figure 60: Selected agreement with consumers’ work behaviours, by gender, NI and RoI, 2023
-
- Figure 61: Consumers who exercise at least once a week, by gender, NI and RoI, 2022
- Younger consumers are more prone to burnout
- Figure 62: Selected agreement with consumers’ working behaviours, by age, NI and RoI, 2023
-
- Figure 63: Consumers who think that the statement ‘I am actively seeking ways to reduce stress’ describes them very well, by age, IoI, 2023
- Consumers of higher affluence care for environmental policies at work
- Figure 64: Agreement with the statement ‘I would care about a potential employer’s environmental policies’, by socio-economic status, NI and RoI, 2023
-
- Figure 65: Consumers who do the following all the time/sometimes, NI and RoI, 2022
-
-
Appendix – Data Sources, Abbreviations and Supporting Information
- Data sources
- Abbreviations
- Data sources
Why Mintel?
Gain access to high quality market research with every purchase of Mintel’s consumer reports. Here's what else you can expect when buying from us:
Mintel’s Clients Portal
After your purchase is completed, you’ll receive an invitation to join Mintel’s Clients Portal which provides instant access to supplementary insights from Mintel’s industry experts.
Multiple Report Formats
Mintel’s reports are available in PDF and PPT formats, and arrive in your inbox alongside an excel datasheet, so you can share Mintel’s market intelligence with ease.
Interactive Databook
Mintel’s bespoke consumer data is presented as an interactive website, so you can deep dive into your chosen topic, explore demographics and download specific statistics.
Custom Presentations
Using Mintel’s custom presentation tool, you can easily incorporate selected research data and analysis into a tailor-made presentation to win over clients and stakeholders.
Browse our sample PDF report below:
Please Note: All of the figures, graphs, and tables in this sample report have been redacted.
Trusted by companies. Big and small.
