Nearly one third of Irish workers would move abroad for their dream job

A survey of more than 1,000 adults across the country and found that 32pc of respondents would move abroad for their dream job.

Of those who no longer like their job, one third said that they are not being paid enough and one quarter admitted that they don’t like the company they are working for.

A further 27pc cited working in a toxic environment, and more than one in ten want to work for a company that has implemented a four-day working week, the survey by a recruitment firm found.

The majority of respondents said that they had a dream job in mind when growing up. Of those, 38pc said that they were now in that dream job, while 22pc are working on it.

Matrix Recruitment consultant Catherine Keating said 82pc of workers in Ireland believe there is such a thing as a dream job.

Ms Keating added that a “comfortable salary” is high on the priority list for many as the cost-of-living crisis continues.

“It’s interesting to see how recent attitudes have changed when it comes to what is important to workers,” she said.

“Over the past two years, a job that helped others was ranked highly, but fewer survey respondents cited this as an important attribute in our most recent findings.

“This might reflect how priorities have changed along with attitudes towards essential jobs in a post pandemic workforce.”

The survey found that a steady work/life balance that includes flexible working was a key factor in people’s concept of their dream job, more so than having a good salary.

A pleasant work environment and job satisfaction were ranked highly by more than half of all those surveyed.

Meanwhile, fewer people rated benefits such as free lunches, sleeping pods or gym membership.

A further 29pc of respondents who are not in their dream job noted financial factors as one of the main barriers.

However, 32pc said that they would be willing to take a pay cut to secure what they believed to be their dream job.

More than half of all respondents aged 45 to 54 said they would upskill or return to education.

Almost half of all 18 to 25-year-olds surveyed said they’d move abroad for their dream job while only 17pc of 45 to 54-year-olds said the same.

A further 26pc said they would miss a personal event such as a wedding or a funeral.

Ms Keating added: “It’s fantastic to see that so many in the 45 to 54 age bracket would be willing to return to education and/or upskill to pursue their dream job.”

“This is a clear sign that it’s never too late to change career, or to find that dream role.”