Staff shortages and leadership deficits are leading to a “growing sense of dissatisfaction” among Irish workers, prompting some employees to hunt for new jobs, according to human resources software company SD Worx.

Four in 10 workers feel their team is experiencing issues with absenteeism or misuse of leave policies by colleagues, according to the survey commissioned by the company of some 1,000 employees in the Republic.

But just 21 per cent of survey respondents admitted to taking absences without a valid reason, suggesting either that “employees are not owning up to it, or their colleagues are overly suspicious”, the company said.

Against a backdrop of staff shortages, almost half of the employees surveyed feel they are overworked. Some 46 per cent said their team is facing shortages and consequently struggling to keep up with workloads, while 48 per cent said they expect staffing issues to worsen over the coming years.

Leadership deficits at the top of organisations are also causing stress, said Eimear Byrne, country lead at SD Worx Ireland, with 39 per cent of respondents saying their manager struggles with effective leadership.

“It’s clear that many employees feel they’re lacking valuable guidance and mentorship,” she said. “As a result we are now seeing a knock-on effect with more people actively seeking to change jobs and widespread concerns about staff shortages, as well as underpayment.”

Some 44 per cent of employees surveyed by SD Worx said they are currently looking for a new job.

Overall Ms Byrne said the survey results highlight a “growing sense of dissatisfaction among Ireland’s workforce”.

Job vacancies in the Republic declined towards the end of 2024, suggesting a softening in labour market conditions after the widespread labour shortages that characterised the post-pandemic period. Still the economy is running at close to full employment in 2025, and companies are facing “a critical need to re-evaluate how they engage and support employees to attract and retain staff”, Ms Byrne said.

The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 4.1 per cent in April, the Central Statistics Office said recently, down from a revised rate of 4.4 per cent in March 2025.