Labor market trends: the growing importance of CSR, AI's stronger impact, and employee attitude transformation

What characterized the job market in 2023, and what can we expect in the coming months? A Guide to Salaries & Trends in the Labour Market published by Michael Page provides answers to these questions. The report showcases the latest trends in remuneration, salary structures across industries, as well as career prospects in key sectors of the economy and market forecasts for 2024.

Still a strong employee market

The Polish labour market is going through a dynamic transformation, but it is still labelled as an employee’s market, where it is the employees who shape the work- places to a greater extent than the employers. Today, we are witnessing a major transformation in the culture of the workplace, which is manifested in particular by growing expectations of candidates towards their prospective employers. Poles seem to prioritise work-life balance and their mental health over career advancement. As many as 40% of the respondents have claimed they are willing to reject promotion within their company’s structures if they believe that it will have a negative impact on their overall well-being. As a consequence, staff are reluctant to give up what they gained during the pandemic, i.e. more flexible working hours, and the ability to combine remote and on-site work. In addition, the idea of employee loyalty, which has a completely different dimension these days, has been devalued in a major way.

I usually provide the example of TV subscriptions. A few years ago, we used to buy CDs or films on DVDs. Today, we buy a subscription for 48 hours, watch a film or TV series and then forget about what we have watched. It’s the same with employee loyalty. It is no longer the case that the new people we see coming in declare their loyalty for 5-10 years; you just can’t buy their loyalty anymore. The long-term relationship between an employee and an employer has been cut down to a relatively short time frame, and employers can now predict a situation only a year ahead. They have to be flexible, creative, and take care of this loyalty; it’s a sort of “employee subscription”. This is indeed a major change, and it looks like it’s here to stay. At the same time, we are dealing with generations Z and Y – a group of young people who are entering the labour market and begin to shape it in a radically new way.

In order to be able to effectively develop a business and conduct efficient recruitment, it is necessary to recognise the needs and expectations of the candidates. For both parties to this interplay, it is important to consider a number of factors, including salaries. It turns out that as many as 42% of applicants would like job advertisements posted by employers to include information about the prospective salary. Both candidates and employees also have high expectations related to the work model.

The hybrid model is no longer a benefit, but rather a must-have. Employees often prefer to experience more well-being and feel a greater sense of freedom at the expense of the pay or promotion opportunities. Interestingly, today’s employees even prefer to wait for a big promotion to come, because it is more important for them to feel good and have the comfort of performing their daily duties. They are now a lot more focused on their own well-being. They give more weight to their private lives than to their professional lives, a trend that, according to our studies, will continue to grow.

Effective leaders at a premium

Due to the transformation of the market, businesses need effective leaders who can attract and retain top talent. According to experts, a major challenge in 2024 will be to retain existing teams rather than recruit new staff. The leadership competence deficit is a real issue that organisations have to face if they want to function efficiently in the changing reality.

This will require a lot of empathy, being close to the business world, keeping in touch with the team on a steady basis. Every organisation has its own ecosystem, and the trick is to strike the right balance, which requires an individual approach. Every team has different levels of motivation, and it is a real challenge for a leader to be able to read motivation properly. The key here is the ability to listen very carefully to the needs of the other party.

Continuous change

Today’s business world is facing a wave of new challenges. Companies have become more active in such areas as ESG and DEI. Corporate Social Responsibility and Diversity, Equity & Inclusion have become an intrinsic part of shaping identity within organisations.

These days, employees and candidates actually pay more attention to ESG and DEI issues in terms of whether it is actually a part of the company’s strategy. This approach reflects on the organisation and has a clear impact on the final decision of an employee or a candidate. We can see more and more often that when people get similar job offers, their decision is ultimately influenced by the position of a given company in the areas mentioned above, the possibility of identification with the employer, sharing common values. This is particularly important for the younger generation, which prioritises their expectations in a slightly different way, even at the expense of their salary.

In addition, artificial intelligence has been growing at an unprecedented pace, and has now gained the status of an indispensable element of work in many industries and in various positions. Not only has it created new roles or positions within organisations, but it has also become a daily tool for many people. Experts believe that in 2024 we can expect an increase in the number of new AI-related tools, as well as more new roles of specific relevance for teams. Businesses are already starting to apply some of them, like e.g. chatbots, to provide customer service or support. Having said that, there is still need for people, who will be keeping an eye on the quality of work done by artificial intelligence.

In 2023, Poland was still regarded as a great spot to set up tech hubs and recruit IT experts. Cloud experts were invariably very popular on the labour market. Anyone changing jobs could usually expect pay rates that were about 10-20% higher than their previous earnings. Average salary increases in businesses were at a similar level. People specialising in cybersecurity, cloud solutions, software development, and data science seem to have gained the most in this respect. In the nearest future, it looks like the IT sector will become one of the most dynamically developing areas of the market.

Current data from the market

Salary Guide offers valuable up-to-date information to help both employers and employees to make the best choices related to career development and talent management in businesses. To prepare the report, Michael Page consultants have carried out a thorough analysis of expected changes and recruitment trends across 9 industries, including IT, manufacturing, and HR. Their advice can also come in handy in developing effective recruitment strategies. Employers should adapt their policies to the new realities and expectations of employees, who, as it turns out, have become increasingly more aware than before of the current situation, and communicate their needs more and more openly these days.

Author: Radosław Szafrański, Managing Director, Country Head of PageGroup Poland

This article comes from magazine:
FOCUS ON Business #15 March-April (2/2024)