Irish workers are regaining confidence in the future of their careers, according to a worldwide jobs survey published yesterday. Chris Dooley, Industry and Employment Correspondent, reports.
It suggests that fewer Irish employees believe they could be laid off during the next year than workers in Britain, the US, Canada or Australia.
Irish workers are also among the most confident about the prospects of finding alternative employment in the event of losing their jobs.
Far more employees in countries including Germany, France and Switzerland said it would be difficult for the "average person" to find a similar job as their own at the same pay.
The survey, carried out by Right Management Consultants in 18 countries, suggests Irish workers' confidence in the future is increasing after suffering a dip last year.
Norway was found to be home to the most confident workers, followed by Spain and South Korea. Workers in Hong Kong were the most concerned about losing their jobs, with Germany and Switzerland also among those displaying least confidence.
A feature of the survey, however, was the recovery in confidence recorded in both Ireland and Britain. The most positive turnarounds were recorded in both those countries.
Just over 16 per cent of Irish workers surveyed believed it was either very or somewhat possible that they would be laid off this year, down from over 18 per cent when the survey was previously conducted in November.
There was a more marked increase in confidence in relation to the second question put to participants.
Asked how easy or difficult it would be for the average person who was laid off to find a similar job at the same pay, 76 per cent of respondents in Ireland said it would be somewhat or very difficult. This was a drop from 86.8 per cent the November survey.
The responses to the two questions are combined by Right Management Consultants, which operates as Right Transition in Ireland, to create a "career confidence index".
The findings lifted the index in Ireland to 49.9 per cent, from 44.9 per cent in November. When the survey was first carried out last March, the Irish confidence index was put at 49.5 per cent.
Overall, the result suggests that Irish workers' confidence in the future has been restored to its previous level after a mid-year dip in 2003.
The survey comprised telephone interviews with almost 10,000 workers, including a minimum of 300 in each of the participating countries.