Money is not the only factor for workers leaving Hungary

There is a serious labour shortage in Hungary when it comes to professionals, such as doctors, IT specialists and engineers, with more experts leaving every day. A new survey revealed that money is not the only factor when professionals decide to leave the country. Those who live abroad could be motivated to come back if certain aspects of Hungarian life could be improved, penzcentrum.hu writes.

A new survey conducted by the Engineering & Manufacturing division of the Hays Hungary employment agency asked engineers living in Hungary about their plans for the future, while Hungarians living abroad reported on their reasons for leaving the country, and also on what would motivate them to come back.

Why do people leave?

Naturally, the primary reason for moving abroad is the higher salaries offered in Western countries. However, this is closely followed by the professional challenges and opportunities for career advancement. Surprisingly, the prestige of the company and the opinion of family and friends influence employee’s decisions the least.

Almost a quarter of engineers are planning to try their luck abroad soon. 47pc of people under 25 are definitely planning to relocate, and 40pc of those over 46 want to move abroad as well. Those who stay typically do so to keep their friends and family close.

While the primary reason clearly is money, the secondary reasons for moving differ for every generation. Young people would like to discover a new culture, while people with families consider their children’s future, more developed corporate culture, and the current Hungarian political situation as decisive factors.

Among the 26-45-year-olds without children, the current Hungarian political climate is the most important driving force, and so is the establishing of a healthy work-life balance.

The older generation has fewer available opportunities on the Hungarian job market, and finding a stable job abroad is their main source of motivation.

[box] In Hungary, engineers in their first job are typically paid around 300 thousand forints gross (960 euros) or more. With more than 10 years of experience, they can receive over 1 million forints (3200 euros).[/box]

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What could convince people to come back?

41pc of Hungarian engineers working abroad think that it is possible that they will move back one day, while 23pc of them are against the idea of working in Hungary ever again.

As to what could motivate them to come back, 88pc of survey takers chose higher salary as their first answer, followed by the presence of friends and family at 84pc.

76pc said that improvement in Hungarian health services would be a strong motivating factor.

For those with families, rise in the quality of Hungarian education could motivate them to move back, and every fourth person would consider coming back if the Hungarian political and economic situation would change, and if legal security would improve.

Ce: bm

Source: penzcentrum.hu