MSL The Practice, eJobs: Unfriendly work atmosphere prompts job changes for 6 in 10 Romanians

MSL The Practice, a PR agency part of Publicis Groupe Romania, and the recruitment platform eJobs Romania have launched the study “What Romanians Want from a Job,” which analyzes the intention of Romanian employees to change their employer in the near future, as well as their professional objectives, criteria for choosing an employer, factors influencing job change, factors that increase trust and loyalty towards an employer, and preferred ways of working.

“In a continuously changing job market, we wanted to see what factors determine Romanian employees to stay at their current jobs or what causes them to seek new career opportunities. For most employees, salary and benefits offered are the main reasons for choosing an employer. However, in recent years, we have noticed an increasingly evident need for emotional comfort, belonging, and being part of something meaningful, rather than just working for a salary. We aim to assist companies with a detailed analysis of their employer image to develop a suitable Employer Branding strategy, and this study is the first step in that process,” stated Stela Toderașcu, Employer Branding Director, MSL The Practice.

From the perspective of recruiting new employees, companies face significant challenges, especially in certain domains, with a limited pool of candidates and considerable associated costs.

“This aspect puts significant pressure on implementing programs and initiatives with immediate effects since employees do not seem to have much patience to wait for employers to find the right measures to retain them. Besides measures with a rapid impact, companies must also analyze whether benefits programs, traditionally treating all employees collectively, are still relevant to them. An option we increasingly discuss with our clients is customizing certain benefits according to what is relevant to smaller groups of employees or even individually,” added Stela Toderașcu.

Read more about

Review & Trends 2024: Capital’s employees earn highest in Romania; IT tops, beauty sector lowest

read more

Key Findings of the Study “What Romanians Want from a Job”:

Stability and Intention to Change Jobs:

According to the study, only 21% of Romanian employees intend to stay in their current job in the next year, with the majority stating that they want a career change. While there are differences between employee categories and industries, the numbers could be concerning for some employers. Some employees are open to making this change because they want a job in a different field, but most are motivated to find a better-paying job, especially since not all employers have adjusted salaries in line with inflation. As for the desired field of activity, over 40% of managers would like their new job to be in the same field as their current one, while “blue-collar” workers show the highest openness to changing fields (40% of them). Additionally, the intention to change jobs is higher (over 75%) among employees in the auto, HORECA, oil & gas, or retail industries, while IT & C and Media & Advertising have the lowest job change rate.

“In 2022, the job market reached a plateau regarding applications, and 2023 brought a significant increase in candidates’ interest in changing jobs. In the first six months of the previous year, we had 5.1 million applications, while in the same period of 2023, we recorded almost 5.3 million applications. Candidates pay close attention to what happens in the market, to the jobs posted by companies, and are more willing than last year to make a change if their criteria are met by an employer and a job,” added Raluca Dumitra, Head of Marketing, eJobs Romania.

Top 3 Factors Determining Job Change:

Salary benefits and the work atmosphere are both the main motivational factors for choosing an employer and the main factors influencing job change. Six out of ten Romanians are motivated to look for another job due to an unfriendly work atmosphere, more than those who would change jobs for a better salary elsewhere (55%).

For 60% of managers, toxic management style is the most important factor determining a career change, closely followed by a hostile work atmosphere (58%), both being more crucial in the decision to change employers than the opportunity for a better salary (48%).

The desire for a higher salary is an essential factor in changing jobs, mainly for workers and non-management employees.

Frequency of Job Changes:

The study indicates that most unemployed individuals (39%) stay unemployed for up to six months, and the percentage decreases significantly after this period. Moreover, managers are the least likely to change employers, with 36% of them having changed jobs five years ago. The average duration of time spent at the same job is 2.5 years.

Criteria for Choosing an Employer:

For 86% of employees participating in the study, salary and benefits offered are the main reasons for choosing an employer, especially for non-management employees, where 90% of them chose salary and benefits as the main motive. The second most important factor, with 62%, is the balance between professional and personal life, with a more significant weight for managers at 66%.

At the same time, the work atmosphere plays a crucial role, motivating 59% of employees in choosing an employer, being more critical than opportunities for improvement or a career plan for most participants in the study. However, managers are more motivated by opportunities for improvement and organizational culture compared to other employee categories.

Factors Increasing Trust Towards an Employer:

For 7 out of 10 Romanians, a transparent management style based on trust and without pressure is the main factor increasing loyalty towards an employer, with increased importance for managers (8 out of 10). A pleasant work atmosphere ranks second with 64%, and salary increases third with 59%. Thus, even though salary and fringe benefits are the main factors in choosing an employer during the recruitment process, they are not the primary factors that determine employees to stay at their current job. For over half of the study participants, additional benefits such as meal vouchers or subscriptions to various services, job stability, and company stability have the most significant influence on increasing loyalty towards an employer.

Professional Objectives for the Next Year:

Similar to choosing an employer, the balance between professional and personal life (65%) and a salary increase (61%) are the main professional objectives for the next year for most study participants.

While promotion is a predominant objective among non-management employees, managers have the specific objective of participating in training, coaching, and mentoring programs. At the same time, those currently unemployed show a higher preference for a more flexible program, in addition to a balance between professional and personal life.

The study was conducted online on a sample of 3,272 people aged over 18, active on the job market. Data collection took place between April and May 2023.

“The Employer Branding division of the PR agency MSL The Practice naturally adopted the data@core vision from Publicis Groupe Romania, where the resolution of any brief, whether media, creative, or PR, starts with understanding consumer behavior through data analysis, establishes success monitoring indicators, and tracks their achievement with data. The study conducted in partnership with the eJobs.ro team is the first step that the Data Intelligence team takes in developing specific analyses for each employer,” explained Rodica Mihalache, Data Intelligence Lead, Publicis Groupe Romania.

The study “What Romanians Want from a Job” is a data solution from the portfolio of DATA Intelligence, part of Publicis Groupe Romania. All DATA solutions can be found at: www.dataintelligence.ro.