Coming out the other side of last year’s layoffs and uncertainty, a new report suggests Europe’s young tech workers are feeling more optimistic about work.
A survey of 2,000 European workers aged between 20 and 30 has revealed that in comparison to last year, job satisfaction and career confidence have risen considerably. Whereas the 2022 edition of the Young Generation in Tech report showed young workers in Europe were feeling disillusioned and unhappy in their roles, this year’s report yielded a pretty big turnaround.
The report by HR company HiBob and VC fund Eight Roads Ventures surveyed young workers in Ireland, the UK, France, Germany, The Netherlands, Spain and Sweden. Last year’s report showed that one in four workers were on the verge of quitting their jobs. As of 2023, the proportion of Europeans who are unhappy in their role has more than halved (from 35pc to 15pc). Almost half (48pc) said they were very satisfied with their role, and 63pc have no plans to leave their job in the foreseeable future. Among the Irish participants, job satisfaction was marginally lower than the European average at 45pc.
Overall, the surge in people feeling more satisfied at work can possibly be linked to greater job security. Tech layoffs were fast and frequent in 2022, meaning many workers were unsure of their futures with their employers. This year, 59pc of respondents in Europe consider their position to be secure, compared with 51pc last year.
Workplace culture is changing in other ways, too. It seems young Europeans want to come back to offices to connect with their colleagues in person. More than half (56pc) of Europeans said they choose to be in the office four or five days a week, while only 9pc choose to work fully remotely.
The report also looked at workers’ attitudes towards AI. The majority (78pc) of those surveyed said they are confident about the impact the technology will have on their role. This is despite the fact many other reports have been pessimistic about the potential impact of AI on workers, such as the Goldman Sachs report that claimed generative AI could replace up to 300m workers.
Davor Hebel, managing partner at Eight Roads, said, “It’s heartening to see confidence recover amongst the tech’s youngest workers. Despite the ongoing economic uncertainty, today’s young professionals are proving just how resilient and adaptable they can be. Not surprisingly, they are the fastest generation to embrace AI, seeing it as a strong productivity lever, and not a threat.
“AI is one of the most significant innovations of our time, and it’s great to see younger people so engaged with it.”
A recent report from Freshworks found that young workers were the most likely to believe AI can benefit them at work and boost their productivity.
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