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AI access is becoming part of the talent proposition, but access alone is not a proven retention strategy. In an Irish Examiner interview published on 2 October 2026, Microsoft Ireland general manager Catherine Doyle argues that employers should pair useful tools with training, clear data rules and measurable business goals.
What Irish workers say about AI and career choices
Microsoft Ireland’s 2026 Work Trend Index, as reported in Joe Dermody’s Irish Examiner interview with Doyle, found that 47% of Irish workers say AI is making them reconsider their career path. Around one in eight say they would consider changing employer specifically to get access to better AI tools. The figures capture reported attitudes; they do not show that AI access alone causes people to leave.
The same survey reporting says 65% believe AI skills are essential to compete. For employers, that makes development opportunities and access to practical tools part of the conversation about what workers need to remain capable and engaged—not a guarantee that providing either will prevent turnover.
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The interview reports workplace AI use at 63% in Ireland, while 48% say they already use AI agents regularly or occasionally. Yet only 40% say they have received enough AI training or guidance. That contrast points to a support gap: usage figures alone do not tell an employer whether staff know how to use AI effectively, safely or in ways that improve their work.
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Data guidance is another issue. The interview says only around half of Irish workers report clear organisational rules about what data may be entered into AI tools. Without those rules, employees may be unsure what is permitted, while organisations may struggle to establish trusted adoption.
Employees can help identify useful AI work
Doyle says employees are well placed to spot where AI might help because they understand the friction in their everyday workflows. In the survey results presented in the interview, 57% say they can point to where AI agents could help in their role. That is a reason to involve staff in identifying opportunities rather than treating adoption as a technology decision made entirely above them.
Her advice to employers is direct: “For employers, the advice is to start with the business outcome, not the technology.” A practical starting point is a recurring task, handoff or bottleneck that workers can describe clearly. The employer can then test whether AI could improve that work, rather than deploying a tool simply to show that the organisation is using AI.
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A practical approach for employers
- Define the outcome. Choose a specific business problem and decide what improvement would count before introducing a tool. That might mean a faster process, fewer manual steps or more time for work requiring human judgment; the measure should fit the actual problem.
- Ask the people doing the work. Invite employees to identify workflow friction and possible uses for AI agents or other tools. Their input can reveal practical constraints as well as promising opportunities.
- Set data rules. Explain what information employees may and may not enter into approved AI tools. Make the guidance clear enough to use in daily work.
- Provide training and leadership expectations. Give staff instruction relevant to their tasks, make clear what responsible use looks like and ensure managers support the change.
- Measure results and adjust the workflow. Track whether the defined outcome improves. Consider how the process itself should change, rather than simply adding an AI tool to an unchanged workflow.
Doyle frames adoption as a combination of people, processes and technology. Her recommendations are guidance from the interview, not an independent evaluation showing that a particular AI programme will deliver a given result.
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AI, workload and wellbeing
The interview presents AI as a possible way to ease workload and create room for higher-value work, but it does not establish that AI has already reduced burnout. The Work Trend Index figures reported there say 44% of Irish workers experience burnout, and more than a third struggle to maintain the right work-life balance. Those pressures make it important to judge an AI initiative by whether it improves work in practice, not by adoption numbers alone.
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All worker statistics in this article are attributed to Microsoft Ireland’s 2026 Work Trend Index as reported in the Irish Examiner interview published on 2 October 2026. The interview text does not provide the survey’s sample size, methodology, field dates or margin of error. The results should therefore be read as reported views among Irish workers, not as proof of cause and effect or as a universal measure of AI’s impact on retention, productivity or wellbeing.
Read Joe Dermody’s interview with Catherine Doyle in the Irish Examiner.
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