personal growth is a shared responsibility of employer and employee.

Randstad Workmonitor results wave 3, 2010

All over the world employees state that, as an employee, you have to take the initiative yourself in developing your career, according to the findings covered in the latest Randstad Workmonitor. However, the employer has the obligation to support his employee in his or her personal career development. Roughly taken about 60% of employers do so, according to employees. In general, employers in Western countries seem to put more effort in stimulating employees than employers in other parts of the world.



Employees all around the globe seem to agree that personal growth is not purely work related nor just a matter of personal development outside the job but rather a combination of the two.



With respect to career development, the economic crisis did work in favor for some employees; especially Indian, Chinese and Mexican employees stated that they have developed faster than they normally would have because they had to work harder or had different kind of work during the recession.



Employee confidence is increasing Employees are more confident in finding a new job than they were three months ago. In general, employees have more trust in finding a different job elsewhere (75%) than to find a comparable job (68%) but both have increased. German employees have most increased their confidence in this respect; three months ago 50% thought they could find a comparable job within six months, this is now 61%. Also in Switzerland this figure increased by more than 10%. In Asia, Chinese employees – like three months ago – have most confidence in finding a comparable (92%) or different job (86%). Employees from the US have less confidence in finding a new job (70%) compared to employees from neighbouring countries Canada (88%) and Mexico (90%). In India the number of employees that fear they will lose their job decreased most (from 26% to 14%). Norway, Sweden, Luxembourg and Argentina have the lowest number of employees that fear losing their job in the next six months (about 4%).



Mobility increased significantly in some countries In Japan, Sweden and Turkey the expectation of employees to change jobs within the next six months increased significantly (+6 points) compared to Q2. The increase in Spain and Switzerland was also high; 5 points. Especially amongst young people; for employees aged 18-24, the mobility index worldwide in Q2 was 114 and increased to 116. Nevertheless, in India the overall mobility index declined from 147 to 140 and in the category aged 18-24 even from 147 to 133. This most probably has to do with the fact that Indian employees have less fear in losing their job than they did three months ago (see above). In France the mobility index amongst young employees has increased significantly over the past three months whereas the index for older employees declined. The strongest increase in France is among employees between 25-34 years old (from 105 to 115 points). Job satisfaction remains high on average Just like three months ago approximately 68% of all employees are (very) satisfied to work at their current employer. With Denmark (83%), Norway (79%) and Luxembourg (80%) at the top end, and Hungary (51%), China (50%) and Japan (41%) at the low end.



Personal motivation: focus on promotion highest in Mexico and India It seems the most ambitious people can be found in Mexico and India where 46% and 43% respectively are strongly focused on promotion. In Scandinavia, the Netherlands, Czech Republic and Japan, the smallest number of employees are focused on getting a promotion. High satisfaction probably plays a role in the level of ambition. This certainly accounts for Scandinavia and the Netherlands where employees are (very) satisfied at their current employer.

The Randstad Workmonitor

After the successful introduction of the Workmonitor in the Netherlands in 2003 and more recently in Germany, the survey now covers 26 countries around the world, encompassing Europe, Asia Pacific and the Americas. The Randstad Workmonitor is published four times a year, making both local and global trends in mobility regularly visible over time.



The Workmonitor's Mobility Index, which tracks worker confidence and captures expectations surrounding the likelihood of changing employers within a six month time frame, provides a comprehensive understanding of job market sentiments and employee trends. In addition to measuring mobility, also employee satisfaction & personal motivation, as well as a rotating set of themed questions are part of the survey.



The quantitative study is conducted via an online questionnaire among a population aged 18-65, working a minimum of 24 hours a week in a paid job (not self-employed). The minimal sample size is 400 interviews per country, using Survey Sampling International. Research for the 3rd wave was conducted August 5-22, 2010.