Many companies today operate hybrid working arrangements for employees, combining working from home with some time in the office. (source: Unsplash)
This article was published in the Career & Employment Guide 2023, our special annual publication focused on the labour market, human resources and education.
The last few years have been challenging ones for Slovakia’s labour market. Just as it looked as if there might be some respite from the Covid pandemic, Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, precipitating an energy crisis and turbocharging inflation.
“There have been more new trends on the labour market in the last two to three years than there have been in the last 30,” said Martin Krekáč, chairman and founding partner of the executive search company Jenewein Group.
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Employee priorities, both work and life, have changed, experts say, and a number of surveys have shown that workers’ job satisfaction, motivation, commitment, loyalty and productivity have all declined.
Companies are having to fight harder than ever to keep their employees.
“The increased attrition rate could cause big problems for firms in the current environment,” said Krekáč.
Meanwhile, long-standing problems in the Slovak market, including long-term unemployment, the inflexibility of labour legislation, a shortage of part-time positions, and a lack of both skilled and general labour, have been compounded by the pandemic.
“According to one study, Slovakia has lost at least three years of economic development in the labour market as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic,” Krekáč told The Slovak Spectator. “So in 2023, the Slovak labour market will be at the same level as in 2019.”
Relative success
Despite this, 2022 proved to be a relatively successful year for Slovakia’s labour market.
