Poles face new job opportunities

(23 April 2019, Warsaw) As many as six in ten Poles are convinced that they will succeed in finding a new job within less than three months – according to a Confidence Index study conducted in the first quarter of 2019 by Michael Page, a recruitment company. It has also been revealed that the opportunity to gain new skills, combined with the perspective of earning more and the eagerness to grow professionally are the most common reasons why Poles go for changing their current workplace. 

Most Poles (60.1 percent) change their jobs, because they want to gain new skills. The prospect of acquiring additional competences seems to be of primary importance for candidates who are making their steps into the labour market, and for those who have less experience:  in fact, as many as 72 percent of the respondents aged 18 to 29 who took part in the survey have pointed to this aspect.

“Younger candidates care a lot more about the opportunity to gain as much as possible in terms of their professional experience, which will, in turn, allow them to build a strong position in the market. For those  aged 30—49, the propensity for changing jobs because of the need to acquire new skills stands at 61 percent, and for 50-year-olds and more senior employees, it goes down to 40 percent,” explains Piotr Dziedzic, director at Michael Page, and member of the board at Polskie Forum HR.

Interestingly, only 43 percent of the respondents have admitted that looking for new employment is driven by the will to earn more. The financial aspect seems to be more important for younger candidates (57 percent among the group of respondents aged 18—29) than for their more accomplished colleagues (35 percent for people aged 50 and over). 

Also, for 36 percent of those surveyed, a lack of opportunities to grow could be a potential reason for changing jobs. For 34 percent, the major reason for making such a decision goes down to the desire to work in a more ethical company, and one in ten respondents has also pointed to the perspective of maintaining their work-life balance. 

According to the respondents, the major aspects they look at in their workplace are: the relations with their superiors and colleagues (97.5 percent), and the access to in-company training programmes  (93.5 percent). As many as 89 percent have brought up the need to keep the right balance between their private life and their job-related duties and responsibilities.

The Michael Page survey also shows that more than 60 percent of the respondents are convinced that they will succeed in finding a new job within less than three months. Almost one in four (26 percent) believes that searching for new employment will take between 4 and 6 months. 

“Only slightly over 13 percent of those surveyed admit that looking for a new job will take them more than six months. This proves that Polish employees feel quite confident about their standing in the labour market. This is the result of several factors, like e.g. the record-low unemployment rate, which stood at 6.1 percent at the end of January, according to the Polish Office for National Statistics (GUS). If the experts’ predictions about Poland’s economic indices come true, we can expect the situation in the domestic labour market to consolidate,” highlights Mr Dziedzic. 

About the Confidence Index study – Confidence Index is a cyclical survey carried out by Michael Page which examines the public moods among those looking for a job in selected countries across Europe, North America, South America, Asia, and Australia. The study measures the levels of optimism among candidates applying for specialist and managerial positions in relation to the opportunities of finding new employment, the expected duration of the search, the expectations regarding one’s own professional standing, the country’s economic condition, and the underlying reasons that have pushed them to change their place of work. The study is conducted online among the candidates who have responded to a job opening through the Michael Page website.

Michael Page is the global leader in personnel consulting. Established in 1976 in London, the company has offices in 35 countries on 6 continents. It is part of PageGroup, which in Poland includes Michael Page, which recruits specialists and top and middle-level managers, and Page Executive, which searches for top-level managerial staff. Michael Page Poland specialises in recruiting professionals in such areas as: Finance & Accounting, Banking & Financial Services, Sales & Marketing, Property & Construction, Manufacturing & Engineering, Information Technology, and Human Resources. In 2017, the company was recognised as one of the best employers in Poland and Europe and received the prestigious Top Employer award. For more information, please visit www.michaelpage.pl.

Karolina Główczyk, M: 662 182 906 E: karolina.glowczyk@multipr.pll