The share of Romanians who received a salary increase to cover inflation in 2023 was only 12%, and six out of ten employees (58%) are considering working abroad this year, according to the results of the Randstad Romania Employer Brand Research 2024, published on Friday.
According to the quoted source, salary remains the main reason for employees to resign, while half of the respondents are willing to move to another city for another job, if their employer provides financial support (housing, transport, relocation costs).
The IT sector dominates the top three most attractive employers in Romania, with Microsoft on the first place for the third consecutive year. The ranking continues with Cognizant and Philips (Versuni).
Also, in the ranking by industry made by Randstad Romania Employer Brand 2024, the most attractive companies are Microsoft – IT, British American Shared Services Europe – services, Ford automotive/car manufacturing, Continental – automotive/car components manufacturing, Antibiotice – pharmaceutical manufacturing and distribution, Philips (Versuni) – manufacturing, British American Tobacco Trading – FMCG, Nokia Networks – telecom, FM Logistics – logistics, Banca Transilvania – finance, eMAG – retail, Oscar Downstream – oil and gas.
The research also shows that among the top five factors influencing job choice in Romania, the attractive salary package ranks first, followed by job atmosphere, job stability and equity (newly introduced in the survey, ranked 4th).
At the same time, the most important differences between employees’ expectations and how they evaluate the current employer are given by the following criteria: salary and benefits (only 12% of respondents say they received raises covering inflation in 2023), career development (a relatively easy to improve and very important aspect, especially for Generation Z) and workplace atmosphere (this, through the contribution of middle managers and team leaders, creates organisational culture).
On the other hand, more than half of the respondents are considering working abroad in 2024, and if they were to work elsewhere they would prefer Germany, the UK, Spain or Switzerland.
Over the past year, the keywords were ‘inclusion’ and ‘diversity’, but in 2024 these have been joined by ‘equity’ and ‘artificial intelligence’. Thus, one in two employees believe that their employer values their experience and unique skills. In relation to artificial intelligence, about one in five employees already use it regularly.
According to the survey data, more than half (53%) of employees in Romania have resigned or are considering doing so because their salaries are too low in relation to the rising cost of living. The share is higher for women and people with above average education.
One reason for resigning is receiving an offer that cannot be refused (43% of respondents). This is followed by lack of career development opportunities and work-life balance (for one in three Romanians). Relationship with the manager is a resignation reason that has reached to 11th place this year from 6th place in 2023.
More than a quarter (28%) of candidates who changed jobs did so through recruitment agencies, the research shows.
Randstad Employer Brand Research is the world’s most comprehensive and in-depth independent employer brand research, selecting the most attractive employers from thousands of companies, based on a methodology optimised over 24 years of global employer brand analysis.
For the 2024 edition, the opinions of nearly 173,000 respondents in the 18-64 age group were collected from some 6,084 companies in 32 markets, representing over 75% of the global economy. The Romanian edition of the research involved 3,851 participants and the interviews took place online in January 2024.
AGERPRES
