Survey: Half of Romanian employees plan a career change in early 2024

More than half of the employees in Romania plan a career change for the beginning of 2024, motivated by the need for a salary increase, according to a survey conducted by the online recruitment platform BestJobs.

More than 40% of employees say 2023 was better than 2022, mainly due to a renewed balance between personal and professional life, according to the survey. However, 43% of them looked for a new job in 2023, another 24% faced professional burnout, 15% worked for a promotion at their current job, and an equal number strove to increase their income to better cope with price hikes.

In the new year, 52% intend to change their current job in the first half of the year, while another 27% remain open to this possibility but do not yet have a concrete plan.

Asked about their current salary, 64% of employees said it is below the market average for them, leading to a strong desire to look for a better job in the new year. 21% believe they are paid at market level, and only 5% said their income exceeds the market average.

Employees would like their future employer to offer primarily promotion opportunities (85%), job stability (63%), and a healthy work environment (54%). Among the extra-salary benefits, most would prefer to have a flexible schedule (60%), specialized courses and training (53%), the possibility to work remotely (38%), and more vacation days (23%). Subscriptions to private medical clinics, private health insurance, and optional private pensions remain at the top of the desired benefits.

“The year 2023 brought many professional challenges for many employees, and the records in applications best express this. Between the ever-increasing prices and the volume of work, people have come to want a better job that also offers them a healthy balance between professional and personal aspects. This balance can also translate into financial comfort, so they looked for higher salary offers, but also a smaller workload, which allows them to be more present for personal activities. For 2024, we expect the pace of applications to remain accelerated, in line with the needs of employees for growth,” says Ana Vișian, Marketing Manager BestJobs.

If in previous years almost 70% of respondents allocated a budget of up to RON 500 (EUR 100) for gifts, now only 40% aim to spend that amount. Recent price increases have made Romanians consider larger budgets if they want to satisfy the same seasonal needs. In this sense, 20% allocate between RON 500-700, and 22% plan to spend up to RON 2,000 (EUR 400). However, 18% do not plan to buy any gifts.

To combat the effects of price increases, 7 out of 10 employees hope to receive a bonus from their employer this Christmas, according to the BestJobs survey. Almost 40% would be happy with money, 15% with gift vouchers, 13% expect to receive holiday-specific products, 10% a 13th salary, and 7% additional days off.