Job mobility is particularly low in Belgium, with most workers saying they prefer to remain at their current posts and employers, while a mere 15.81% are actively seeking other jobs, according to the 9th annual report of the Acerta human resources firm, published on Wednesday. However, the attraction of trying something new is gaining ground: last year 23% of respondents said they had absolutely no interest in job offers. This year, that figure dropped to 20%.
For the 9th edition of its Talent Pulse survey, Acerta - in collaboration with Jobat, the generalist online job board – polled more than 2.000 workers in April.
According to the report, Belgian workers were blocked by the uncertainty that comes with change (71%), indecision about what they really want to do (59%), the risk of taking pay-cuts (53%) and lack of self-confidence (46%).
The survey found that 60% of workers wanted to redirect their careers, 86% said they were prepared to gain experience in another role within their organization and 82% would like to do so in another team than theirs, while 55% said they would be prepared to take on two roles assigned to two employees.
"Workers are thus definitely open to new ideas," stressed Benoît Caufriez, director of Acerta Consult. “On the other hand, they are sceptical about employers’ attitudes towards such creativity. Yet, this solution could also be beneficial to employers.
“Jobs are no longer fixed roles but flexible ones. Tasks evolve with the company and some even disappear due to digitization and robotization, and even other social changes. It could therefore be very interesting for employers to look outside their companies to place their own staff.”
The Brussels Times
