Andrada Popescu, Senior Associate, Employment Law Specialist, Noerr: Candidates and employees are more focused on the quality of the workplace (The Great Realization)

We have a lack of legislative framework in the area of wellbeing, but progress is being made. Recently, a guide has been implemented for the employers to combat and prevent gender-based harassment. We see authorities paying more attention to this and making more inspections in the area of wellbeing and equal treatment. But unfortunately, it is up to the employers to define wellbeing, define equal opportunities, diversity, inclusion etc.

“We are witnessing a trend called The Great Realization, which means that candidate and employees are more focused on the quality of the workplace, rather than the salary benefits that are being granted,” stated Andrada Popescu, Senior Associate, Employment Law Specialist, Noerr at the latest edition of People Empowering Business Forum 2023, organized by the Diplomat-Bucharest and Outsourcing Today.

Find the full recording of the conference here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5y4LQs5x6Ng&t=3385s

If you are an employer and you are trying to hire new people, you have to look at what benefits you are granting and how you are granting them, but also have to look at the quality of your workplace, if you have anti-harassment policies, equality policies etc. That is important for candidates right now.

We are seeing a lot of jobs and few candidates. Regarding the abilities at work, we have seen that many of our clients are looking for employees that prove to own practice, the focus being less on the degree or diploma. The practice-based work is what companies are seeking.

In terms of addressing the work aspects of foreigners working in Romania, we witness a social discrepancy that may be is a little bit encouraged by the law, because, when a company is hiring a foreign citizen, you have to prove that you have tried previously to hire a native citizen and due to the fail of finding the native worker, you had to look elsewhere. This creates discrepancies, by this meaning that Romanian employees are not lured by that job, so the companies need to enrol a foreign citizen. And the social discrepancies are real, because a foreign citizen from poorer regions in the world, especially if we are talking about the Asian people, they came here for a better living and they will set with lesser conditions, or smaller paycheck compared to the national offer, but which is already better that they would obtain in their native country.