Millennials and Z generations want a flexible work schedule

By Edwig Ban
Six out of ten (60%) Romanians in the Millennials and Z generations want a flexible work schedule and work from different places, including from home, according to the latest edition of the Deloitte Central Europe study, First Steps into the Labor Market, conducted in 19 European countries, including Romania. This trend is also observed in other Central European countries, with 50% of respondents preferring a similar approach. Instead, only 5% of Romanian respondents and 10% of those in the region prefer the traditional way of working in the office and a fixed schedule. Despite the popularity of flexible working, exponents of Millennials and Gen Z in Romania (44%), similar to those in Central Europe (51%), would prefer to work only once or twice a week remotely, in the context in which they face difficulties arising from distance work, such as loneliness, lack of human interaction and disruptions caused by responsibilities related to family or housing.
“The study shows that the Millennials and Z generations expect both local and regional to benefit from a flexible way of working, but, unlike other research, points out that their preference for work from home is limited. This may be related to both the challenges of distance learning and the fact that university graduates consider career development opportunities to be more important than the opportunity to work from home and are aware that the office remains an accelerating environment. integration into an organization and professional development in the early stages of a career” said Alexandru Reff, Country Managing Partner, Deloitte Romania and Moldova.
When it comes to preferred employment options, more than half of respondents in our country (59%) would like to have a full-time contract with a single employer, and more than a quarter (29%) would want to be a freelancer or consultant, working on a flexible or short-term basis, two options also highlighted by Central European respondents.
In both Romania and Central Europe, students and recent university graduates express a desire to work in other countries, with 22% of respondents locally planning to move abroad for career opportunities, and 66% being willing to move to another country for a job, the study shows. This may be one of the reasons why large international companies are the most attractive type of employer, with 37% of respondents considering them the first choice for a job, just like respondents in the region. The COVID-19 pandemic did not affect the desire of 66% of Romanian respondents to move abroad for a job, targeting countries such as Germany (16%), the United Kingdom (15%) and the United States (7%).
The study also points out that 61% of Romanian respondents are confident that they will find the desired job in less than six months, slightly below the level of confidence in Central Europe (over 70%).
Deloitte Romania is one of the largest professional services companies in our country and offers, in cooperation with Reff & Asociații | Deloitte Legal, audit, tax consulting, legal services, management consulting and financial consulting, risk management services, technology solutions and consulting services, as well as other related services, through over 2,600 professionals.