Shifting workloads and expectations have resulted in more employees working outside of their set hours.
New research from recruitment consultancy Robert Walters has shown that a change in work demands has led to a number of Irish professionals working outside of their usual hours in order to stay on top of the workload.
What was discovered is that, of those who participated in the survey, only 25pc of employees are adhering to their core hours. More than a third (37pc) stated that they either start early or finish late every day and 38pc explained that their hours are dependent on their workload.
Professionals cited a number of factors contributing to an excessively long work day, including catching up on work and meeting deadlines (54pc), with an additional quarter of people reporting that they have to work late often in order to communicate with teams working in different time zones.
Suzanne Feeney, the country manager of Robert Walters Ireland, noted that despite the skills shortage impacting hiring efforts throughout the region, many employers still expect the same level of productivity and output, putting immense pressure on the existing workforce.
According to Robert Walters, 45pc of Irish responding employers said that their response to the skills shortage has been to redistribute the work among the existing team, while 26pc said that they employ less skilled professionals to fill the gaps.
The research suggests that this has led to a disrupted workforce, with 66pc of people describing the current workload as too heavy and demanding.
Feeney reflects: “Although numerous Irish employers are increasing hiring in 2025, skills shortages continue to leave many crucial positions unoccupied, leaving existing staff to pick up extra tasks and projects just to maintain growth. With so many identifying their workloads as heavy or demanding, it’s only a matter of time before this escalates into widespread burnout.”
Always-on mentality
The data suggests that there is an ‘always-on’ mentality in Ireland, where professionals often connect with their place of employment while on holiday. More than half (53pc) of contributing Irish professionals admitted to checking their emails while on annual leave, in order to stay on top of the work for when they return.
“To avoid professionals feeling pressured to clock-in at all hours, response times must be clarified through things like time zone tagging in correspondence, implementing delayed sends and allocating specific, pre-agreed time slots for international calls,” said Feeney.
To reclaim the work day, 43pc of participants were of the opinion that their employer or office could trial ‘power hours’, wherein they would have an allocated block of quiet time at their disposal. This could be used as an interruption-free period to promote concentration and boost productivity.
“Implementing ‘power hours’ may not fit every workplace, but it does underscore the importance of optimising the working day,” said Feeney. “If employers continue to tolerate a culture of silent overwork within their organisations, especially in the wake of skills shortages, they risk not only burnout and attrition but also a collapse in morale and productivity.”
She further explained, to truly address the issues, employers will have to reset workplace expectations “from the top”. Leaders will have to openly acknowledge scenarios where responsibilities and remits have increased and “clear protocols and expectations should be put in place to ensure staff are supported in prioritising tasks, setting expectations for deadlines and being transparent on their capacity”.
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