What Makes A Great Employer?

An international survey conducted by MORI for Manpower reveals what jobseekers in 15 EMEA (Europe Middle-East & Africa) countries want from their employers, what their fears are for the future and what the trends are in the world of work.

Key Findings:

What makes a great employer?

Security and stability (rated in the top three factors for almost half of respondents) and competitive salary & benefits package head the list. Employers who support flexible working/encourage work-life balance and who provide the opportunity for career progression are most likely to be well regarded.

Base: All EMEA respondents (weighted)

Workplace concerns and attitudes:

• Financial concerns and fears about job security dominate with almost half of respondents (49%) being concerned about the prospect of unemployment in the next 12 months. More than two in five (43%) respondents across EMEA reported they would not be financially secure enough to give up work at the expected retirement age. Amongst the most concerned are respondents from the UK (41%), Germany (49%) and Italy (54%).
• Almost half (47%) of all respondents are most likely to join or to stay with a company that they feel addresses social issues, for example one who is environmentally aware and has a close relationship with the community. This is most important to jobseekers in Switzerland (74%) and Finland (67%), but least important to candidates in Sweden (17%).
• Flexible working is extremely popular, with seven in ten (70%) saying they would be happy to work later in life if they could work flexibly. However, only a fifth (22%) would consider taking a pay cut to work a shorter working week.
• When asked which benefit is the most important, aside from salary and bonus packages, paid courses and education (62%) was the clear leader.
• On the issue of starting a family, more than a quarter of respondents (27%) feel they or their partners are unable to take time away from their careers to have children. Over a fifth (21%) expressed concern that having a family would impact negatively on their careers (respondents in Spain (38%) and Greece (26%) are the most worried).
• Around two in five (39%) of EU job seekers surveyed view the movement of workers in the EU as a positive solution to skills shortages in their country. However, a similar proportion of EU job seekers (43%) are concerned that such movement of workers in the EU will make it harder for their own future job seeking.

Technical details

The survey was conducted from June-August 2005 across 15 EMEA countries (Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Greece, Israel, Italy, Norway, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey and UK). All survey completion was conducted on-line, with respondents able to access the survey via the Manpower web page of each participating country. In total 12,229 completed surveys were attained from job seekers. The survey represents part of a wider Manpower study 'Great Employer' which focuses on work trends, linked to a consortium of leading employers.