A third of companies are looking to scale back on work-from-home option, despite its popularity with employees, survey finds
That's according to the 2025 Benefits Trends Survey carried out by WTW, a multinational insurance broker.
Orlagh Farrington, head of health and benefits at WTW in Ireland, said the one-third figure was a slight decline on the previous year, adding employers are looking to balance their needs with employee expectations.
'Nearly half of Irish jobseekers say they would turn down a role that doesn't offer hybrid or remote options,' she said.
'This puts employers in a challenging position: while some are eager to bring teams back onsite, they risk losing out on top talent if flexibility is reduced too aggressively.'
The survey also found that rising benefit costs were a top issue, with 61pc of employers saying it was influencing benefit strategies.
Healthcare benefits was identified as the most prevalent cost, with 41pc saying this was the most challenging to implement.
Farrington said Irish employers were 'under increasing pressure to do more with less'.
'Most employers have indicated that rising budget pressures and increasing benefit costs are limiting their ability to enhance or expand their benefits offerings,' she added.
"Unlike in previous years, when benefit enhancements were more common, employers are now focused on maintaining current benefit levels in a cost-neutral way.'
So far, she had not seen widespread cuts to benefits.
WTW's survey included 41 Irish employers, representing over 41,000 employees.
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Photo: Gerry Faughnan Tina Brennan wonders if she would have had heart problems if she and her doctor had known more about menopause when she first developed symptoms 10 years ago. The 59-year-old civil servant, from Roscommon, started getting palpitations in her late 40s. 'I'd suddenly feel so unwell I'd think I was going to pass out,' she says. It took five years and countless doctors' visits before a menopause specialist told her that hormones caused her symptoms. 'Those were five years of pure hell,' says Brennan, who often felt dismissed by medics. 'At one point, I remember asking if my symptoms could be menopause related, and the consultant wouldn't even entertain the idea, telling me that women blamed everything on menopause.' A decade later, Brennan's symptoms are finally under control. 'I take medication now, but I question if taking HRT early on might have helped me,' she says. 'I did try it for a while, but I'd had palpitations for years by that stage. It was probably too late.' She considers herself lucky to have had support during those tough years: 'My family and friends were great. So were the people at work, always telling me to go home and rest whenever I felt unwell.' Her employers now run lunchtime seminars on menopause. She says: 'I think that will mean the next generation of women will know more about it. The awareness of the impact menopause can have on women's lives simply wasn't there when I went through it.' Sleepless nights Kathleen Ormond was in her early 50s when she suddenly stopped being able to sleep. 'I'd be lucky to get two hours' sleep a night,' says the now 69-year-old, from Wexford. Mood swings accompanied her subsequent exhaustion. Ormond had little patience with her family and experienced bouts of road rage. Eventually, she realised her problems could be due to her hormones. So she asked a doctor about taking HRT. However, she was flatly dismissed. 'A female GP told me that it would be like using a sledgehammer to kill a fly,' says Ormond. 'She gave me sleeping tablets instead.' Another sleepless year was to pass before her daughter recommended she see a menopause specialist. 'What a different experience that was,' says Ormond. 'She asked questions and listened to my answers.' She also gave her a prescription for HRT, which had what Ormond describes as'incredible results'. She was able to sleep again. Her mood lifted: 'It even improved the condition of my hair and skin.' Her advice to other women is to speak up and get help: 'I couldn't continue living the way I was when my symptoms were at their worst, and my family found it hard to live with me too. 'But going for that second opinion led to me finding a solution to my menopause problems.'
