Salary and benefits, professional development opportunities, work-life balance. Our survey shows that these are the most important influencing factors in changing jobs.
In our questionnaire, after the data on the participants, we quantified the aspects of changing jobs, ranking them from the most important to the least important.
The participants
In terms of age, a third of the employees belonged to the Z generation, half to the Y generation, while the proportion of those filling in the X generation was 17%.
In terms of age, there was no significant difference between the younger and older generations in terms of preferences, however, those belonging to the younger generation preferred factors of individual opportunities (such as salary, professional development opportunities, work-life balance), and those belonging to the older generation preferred people-oriented factors (such as workplace atmosphere, management style) ranked higher.
In terms of location, the majority of respondents came from Pest County and Budapest (61.1%). Responses were received from a total of 10 counties.
In terms of professional field, the responses came from different industries, they were engineering, IT, labor, manufacturing/logistics, education and business services.
The majority of people have worked in the given workplace for 1-3 years (45%), but a significant number of respondents (22%) have worked in their current position for less than 6 months or just over 5 years (17%).
The most important influencing factors
Among those who filled in, the following were the most important factors during the job change.
First places
1.1 Salary and Benefits
The basic salary, bonuses, and fringe benefits are the primary and most important aspect when changing jobs for those filling out 45%. This result is in line with other research, where financial benefits also play a prominent role in the motivation to change employers. The importance of this is especially understandable in today's inflationary situation, when employees increasingly feel the need for financial stability and increased income.
1.2 Professional development opportunities
The most important aspect for the 17% of the applicants is the opportunity for professional development, including the opportunity for advancement, training and mentoring. The outstanding importance of this factor is partly due to the fact that employees increasingly recognize the importance of professional development and skill development for adapting to changing labor market needs and achieving personal career goals. In the dynamically changing business environment, employees place greater emphasis on continuous learning and development, which motivates them to prioritize professional development opportunities.
1.3 Work-life balance
As a result of the pandemic, interest among employees in flexible working hours, home office options and remote work has increased. As a result, 12% of the respondents specifically placed the work-life balance category first among their preferences. This reflects that for employees, flexibility in the workplace and opportunities to work from home have increasingly become a determining factor when changing employers, and the creation of a balance between work and personal life has become a prominent aspect in their evaluation.
Second places
The same aspects appear in the second places as in the first places, which shows what the three most important influencing factors are. Professional development opportunities were ranked second by 28% of respondents, salary and benefits by 22%, and work-life balance by 22%.
Third places
Work-life balance was ranked third by 34%, thus continuing the previous trend regarding the most important aspects. However, people-oriented factors also appear here, as respondents 22% ranked the corporate culture and workplace atmosphere category first, emphasizing a good atmosphere and the importance of a cohesive team. In addition, 17% of respondents placed the leadership style and support category on the podium, which includes a good leader, job satisfaction and adequate stress levels. This indicator suggests that people-oriented and management factors also play a decisive role in workplace preferences.
Engineers
The majority of the participants, 39% of the respondents, work in the engineering field. As expected, the primary considerations for engineers were also salary and benefits (57%) and professional development opportunities (28%).
Professional development opportunities (57%) are also in second place for those working in the engineering field, while salary and benefits (29%) and work-life balance (14%) also play a prominent role.
In third place, in addition to work-life balance (42%) and salary (14%), human-centered factors also appear prominently. 42% of the participating engineers rated the workplace atmosphere category as the third most important factor.
The least important influencing factor
It may come as a surprise, but company reputation is the least important factor according to 67% of the fillers (and 85% of the engineer fillers). This is also interesting because this high ratio may suggest that these employees primarily consider other, more specific aspects, such as salary or professional development opportunities, to be more decisive in evaluating their workplace.
Based on the research, it is clear that decisions to change jobs are influenced by many factors, and individual preferences can differ significantly in individual areas and age groups. Employers should take these factors into account in order to make their workplace more attractive to them and retain their talented employees in the long term.