Less than 9% of employees in Belgium are actively looking to switch jobs, making Belgians the most loyal workers in Europe.
People working in Belgium are once again the most loyal employees of the 18 countries surveyed by HR specialist SD Worx for the annual international employee survey. Just 9% of workers in the country are actively looking for another employer. Last year, Belgians were also the most loyal employees, as just 8% were actively looking to switch jobs.
"Even in 2024, we find that Belgians are very loyal," said Senior Legal Manager at SD Worx, Jan Vanthournout. "We have the lowest active interest when it comes to switching employers."
This puts Belgium ahead of Austria and the Netherlands, which are also in the leading group of countries where employees are least likely to want to leave their employer. Serbian workers are at the other end of the spectrum and the most open to change: almost one in five (19%) are actively looking for another employer.
Vanthournout told The Brussels Times that this loyalty is mostly down to the fact that employees experience a significant threshold to leave their job. "Most people in Belgium are on a fixed contract, meaning there is job security. There are also seniority conditions which see people's wages increase the longer they stay with a company."
By comparison, employees in other countries may be hired on a more permanent basis under more precarious conditions, meaning they may be more motivated to look for another job.
No intention to change
When it comes to being passively open to changing employers, Belgian employees are slightly less loyal. While not actively looking, one in five employees in the country (19%) indicated that they would be open to changing employers.
"Only the Austrians and Germans are even less passively looking for another employer (at 11% and 14%, respectively)," said Vanthournout. "Again, we are among the top three in Europe." Overall, 28% of workers in Belgium are considering changing employers either passively or actively, compared to 21% in Austria, which recorded the lowest intention to change employers.
Meanwhile, as many as 72% of respondents in Belgium do not intend to change at all. However, the country is still behind Austria, where 79% say they do not want to change.
Related News
- Belgian pension age: Dreams of retiring at 60, but reality of working until 65 setting in
- Over-qualified and dissatisfied: Highly educated migrants struggle to find suitable jobs in Belgium
While employers seeing these results may not need to worry about staff retention, they also reflect that Belgian employers have to put more effort into attracting new employees. "Instead of finding people on the labour market, they have to actively approach people who already have a job, and entice them with their offer," Vanthournout said.
In turn, this can lead to tensions on the work floor, as existing employees may feel like employers are offering better conditions to new hires. "Wage policy has to be consistent, otherwise the internal legitimacy of wage system may be questioned."
