Romanian employees say their main priorities for 2025 include job stability (32.2%), salary and extra benefits (27.9%), maintaining work-life balance (21.9%), as well as, to a lesser extent, skill development (6.9%) and advancement opportunities (5.6%), according to a new survey by recruitment platform eJobs Romania.

The same survey reveals that 13.9% of employees are very optimistic about next year, 29.3% are optimistic, 25.1% remain neutral, 24.8% are worried, and 6.9% are very worried. 

Four out of ten participants in the latest eJobs Romania survey stated that their main professional plan for 2025 is to get hired. This is either because they want to change their current job or because they became unemployed in 2024. 

Additionally, 22.6% hope for a salary raise, 11.5% aim to work from home, 5.6% hope to be promoted, and 4.3% plan to start a career conversion course. Nearly 10%, however, say they have no reason to hold optimistic expectations for 2025.

"Interestingly, we no longer see an overwhelming percentage of those marking working from home as their top wish for the next year. While applications for remote jobs remain high, candidates and employees are starting to understand the signals from employers—namely, that they prefer hiring people who come to the office rather than those who work exclusively or predominantly from home,” says Raluca Dumitra, Head of Marketing at eJobs.

“On the other hand, compared to last year, we see a bit more stability, with employees being more cautious about making career moves unless they have an acute reason for dissatisfaction. For instance, while 40% of this year’s respondents said they want to change jobs in the next year, last year, the percentage was 56%,” she adds. 

Of those who hope to get hired in 2025, 49.7% say they are already searching for a new job. One reason for the caution employees show about abrupt career changes is that they found this year more challenging and uncertain than 2023.

“Those who have already set their professional goals for 2025 plan to achieve them by actively searching for new job opportunities, participating in development and training programs, and negotiating better working conditions at their current job. A quarter of respondents intend to discuss directly with their manager and request an evaluation that could lead to a salary increase or promotion,” adds Raluca Dumitra. 

Respondents also anticipate changes in the labor market starting next year. The most significant is the expectation that employers will demand new skills and competencies (45.3%). Additionally, 36% believe there will be company restructurings and reorganizations, 19.8% foresee an increase in automation and technology use in their daily work, 21.2% expect more remote work opportunities, and 14.2% predict more opportunities for internal and international mobility. 

radu@romania-insider.com

(Photo source: Fizkes | Dreamstime.com)