PwC report: The Great Resignation phenomenon continues with even more pressure on wages

The global Great Resignation phenomenon will continue next year with even more pressure on wage growth. Of employees in Romania, 40% plan to ask for a pay rise in the next year and 16% want to change employers, according to the results for Romania of the PwC global Workforce Hopes and Fears survey launched on 24 May at the World Economic Forum annual meeting in Davos. In comparison, globally, more employees (19%) want to change employers and 35% want to ask for a pay rise in the next 12 months.

According to the survey, only 13% of Romanian employees strongly agree that they are paid fairly and 26% moderately agree. The percentages are similar to the global figures of 19% and 23%, respectively. A quarter of Romanian employees and the same proportion globally also strongly agree that their current job fulfils them personally.

“Employee trust and attachment to employers has deteriorated over the past two years during a pandemic and related restrictions that reduced direct, personal interactions to zero for a significant period. In Romania, only one in five employees are currently very satisfied (21%) with their current job, while globally 28% of respondents feel this way. Of course, financial rewards remain the most important when employees are asked what their main motivations are. However, personal fulfilment through work is mentioned just behind salary, so we believe that the dramatic changes of the last two years have had an impact on the whole way of working to diminish engagement and job satisfaction. Health and social uncertainty, and more recently economic challenges, especially inflation and war, have increased anxiety and burnout”, said Dinu Bumbăcea, Country Managing Partner, PwC Romania.

Thus, receiving a fair wage is the main reason for changing jobs for 78% of Romanian employees and 72% of global employees. The next most important reasons are the desire to have a job where they can truly be themselves, as mentioned by 76% of Romanian respondents, and a fulfilling job, as reported by 71%.

Employees think employers are not investing enough in technology and upskilling

When asked what worries them most when they think about the impact of technology on their current workplace in the next three years, almost 40% of Romanian employees responded that employers do not invest in innovative technologies, and 35% indicated a lack of opportunity to work with / learn from colleagues with technical/digital skills. In comparison, 36.8% of respondents globally indicated that the organisations they work for do not invest in new technologies, and 40% mentioned the lack of opportunity to learn from skilled colleagues.

In this context, almost a third of Romanian employees believe that employers do not teach them the technical/digital skills relevant to the workforce of the future.

The Workforce Hopes and Fears survey was conducted by PwC among more than 52,000 employees in 44 countries. In Romania, the sample included over 520 respondents.