What do workers in Romania really want?

Launching the next localised report in our ‘Rethinking Workplace’ series, we explore the current issues and desires of workers in Romania. We also uncover how the current ‘workplace’ environment is affecting people's happiness, health and wellbeing. Finally, we show how it might be improved.

The current landscape

Overall, our research illustrates that Romanian office workers spend more time in the office than their European counterparts and, men in particular, frequently undertake overtime.

Many view the worklife concept as having the potential to provide more balance – it appears to offer hope to employees who currently ‘struggle to switch off’.

Despite wanting flexible working hours, more than any other workplace ‘perk’, people feel they are most productive in the office. Private spaces are currently more prevalent and popular, while co-working seems to be an emerging trend - potentially due to an influx of global companies setting up base in the main cities.

What workers want

More than anything, Romanian office workers want boundaries that support flexibility.

A large portion of office workers (79%) see the growing convergence between home and work – ‘worklife’ – as a benefit. And flexible working hours are the most desired workplace ‘perk’. However, when considering this in relation to the amount of overtime being undertaken, an even greater lack of downtime could, in fact, be the result.

Office location plays a more important role than aesthetics in Romania – especially in Bucharest, where urban space is developing much faster than the infrastructure.
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Improved indoor air quality

Indoor air quality is highlighted as an issue, especially for the younger generation (18-30) and particularly in Bucharest, and the Galati region – being the site of the largest steel mill in Romania.

In the 2018 Air Quality in Europe report of the EEA, air pollution in Romania was found to exceed European Union and World Health Organization limits and guidelines. Therefore, as we’ve seen in many of the European countries surveyed, the media agenda could potentially be playing a role in peoples’ growing concern about poor air quality.

Looking ahead

Ultimately, the Romanian findings suggest a time of change. With global corporations increasingly setting up offices in the country’s cities, and new methods of working emerging as a result – i.e. homeworking and coworking – it seems workers are becoming more aware of their options.

In response, greater flexibility in the day to day is most desired, and with the majority of employees feeling most productive in the office, some slight operational changes could make a vast difference in terms of improved health and wellbeing.

For more insight into how Romania benchmarks against the rest of Europe, download the ‘Rethinking Workplace’ report.

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