Over the past two years, 67% of employees have remained with the same employer, while seven in ten say they are satisfied with their current professional situation—the highest level in three years, according to GI Group Holding’s Labour Market Barometer 2026. Behind these stable figures for the overall market, however, lies a more complex picture. Among the youngest respondents, aged 18–24, as many as 55% have changed employers, while the figure reaches 51% among those earning more than PLN 10,000 per month. At the same time, almost every second company struggles with employee turnover, while workers continue to point to higher pay, bonuses and career-development opportunities as the strongest reasons to remain with an organisation.
Young Employees Leave, Older Workers Choose Stability
The youngest Poles are the most willing to change employers. Among those aged 18–24, 55% made such a move during the past two years, including one in five who changed jobs more than once. Among employees aged 25–44, the share falls to 33.5%, while in the 45–54 age group it stands at just 20%.
The mobility of younger employees is not surprising. Those entering the labour market often treat their first jobs as temporary, and these roles do not always correspond to their preferred career path. Mobility declines with age, as the choice of a new employer becomes more considered and non-work circumstances also encourage greater stability.
“Average market indicators do not provide the full picture. Only an analysis that takes into account age, pay level, role and career stage makes it possible to identify important differences in employees’ willingness to leave or remain with their current employer,” says Grzegorz Gojny, Chief Operating Officer at Gi Group.
“The youngest generation stands out in this respect. Greater openness to change enables them to gain experience and choose the right professional path. There is another important factor: younger employees today pay much more attention to whether their values align with the company’s culture and working atmosphere. These issues often determine whether they decide to build their future with a particular organisation over the longer term.”
This pattern is also confirmed by data on job positions. Younger specialists remain the most mobile group: almost half of them, 48.7%, changed employers at least once during the past two years, while nearly 14% did so more than once. By comparison, the share among older specialists is 21%, while among lower-level employees it exceeds 24%.
The Higher the Pay, the Greater the Appetite for Change
The results are also revealing when broken down by income. Among people earning less than PLN 7,000 net per month, around 30% changed employers at least once in the past two years. Lower mobility is visible among those earning between PLN 7,000 and PLN 9,999. In contrast, employees earning more than PLN 10,000 net per month stand out: half of them, 51%, changed employers, while 28% did so more than once.
Differences are also visible across industries. The public sector is the most stable, with just 13.5% of respondents changing employers. In manufacturing, the share was close to 24%. At the other end of the spectrum are transport and logistics, where half of respondents took up employment with another company and 19% changed employers more than once.
Stronger Satisfaction Figures Mask Significant Differences
Satisfaction with current employment has been rising steadily. One and two years ago, 68% of respondents said they were satisfied with their jobs. In 2026, the share increased to 70.9%. At the same time, the proportion of those who were rather dissatisfied fell from 11.6% to 6.7%, according to the Labour Market Barometer 2026.
As with job mobility, however, satisfaction is not spread evenly across employee groups. The highest levels are reported by the youngest and oldest workers. Nearly 78% of employees aged 55–67 are satisfied, as are more than 77% of those aged 18–24. The lowest share is found among people aged 45–54, at 66.4%.
Management staff report the highest satisfaction levels, with eight in ten respondents satisfied with their current employment. Among older and younger specialists, the figure is around 73%. The lowest results were recorded among manual workers, at 68.6%, and lower-level employees, at 61.6%.
A clear relationship also remains between income and the assessment of one’s current workplace. The most satisfied group consists of employees earning between PLN 7,000 and PLN 9,999 net per month, where satisfaction reaches 80.7%. Among those earning at least PLN 10,000, the figure is 77%, as it is among respondents earning PLN 5,000–6,999. The lowest satisfaction level, 62%, is reported by those earning up to PLN 3,999 net per month.
Manufacturing, transport and logistics are sectors where employees are less likely than in other industries to report satisfaction with their current jobs, at 66.4% and 67.3% respectively. Nevertheless, these are still relatively high shares.
A Pay Rise Alone Is No Longer Enough to Retain Employees
Rising job satisfaction does not mean employees see no reasons to change jobs. The survey clearly shows what could persuade them to remain with their current organisation. Higher pay is the most important factor: 84.3% of respondents identified a salary increase as important or very important. Additional bonuses were close behind, with more than 80.6% of respondents considering them important when deciding whether to continue working for their current employer.
Other key factors included greater opportunities for professional development, cited by 76.4%; non-salary benefits, cited by 72.2%; flexible working hours, also cited by 72.2%; and an improved workplace atmosphere, at 71.3%.
Behind these overall figures, however, lie different expectations among particular employee groups. Among management staff, additional bonuses are important to 89% of respondents, while work-life balance programmes and workplace atmosphere are also highly valued. Older specialists gave high scores to non-salary benefits and flexible working hours, with both factors cited by 84%.
Younger specialists placed the greatest value on career-development opportunities, cited by 82%, ahead of both additional bonuses and flexible working hours, which were each cited by 79%.
Career-development opportunities and workplace atmosphere, alongside additional bonuses, also matter to lower-level and manual employees. Among manual workers, 74% pointed to improving the atmosphere at work, while 72% cited professional development. Among lower-level employees, the respective figures were 65% and 69%.
“Although pay remains the most important factor influencing the decision to stay with an employer, relationships, workplace atmosphere, management style and a sense that the company offers genuine development and promotion prospects are playing an increasingly important role,” says Piotr Wajgielt, Senior Partner at Wyser Executive Search.
“The research shows how strongly these expectations vary depending on age and career stage. Effective retention measures therefore require managers to take an individual approach and account for those differences, rather than relying solely on one-size-fits-all solutions.”
Employee Turnover Is Easing, but the Challenge Remains
Employee departures remain one of the most important challenges facing employers, although the scale of the problem has declined somewhat. In recent months, 41.4% of companies have experienced turnover in at least one employee group, compared with 47% a year earlier. This means that the issue still affects almost every second organisation.
Compared with 2025, companies less frequently reported difficulties related to the loss of lower-level employees, down to 12% from 17%; qualified mid-level staff, down to 11% from 13%; and senior-level employees, down to 8% from 9%.
Both small and large companies face turnover challenges: 44% of smaller businesses and 41% of large enterprises reported employee departures in at least one group during the recent period. The retail sector is particularly affected, especially in lower-level roles.
From Pay Rises to Flexible Working: How Employers Respond
More companies are taking action to reduce the risk of employee departures. The most frequently used tool remains salary increases, implemented by one in four organisations. This is also the measure workers expect first. Bonuses and competence-development initiatives follow, each used by 16.5% of companies. Organisations also rely on non-salary benefits, at 14.1%; improved working conditions, at 13.5%; and greater flexibility in working hours, at 12.7%.
The measures selected depend on the nature of the organisation. Large enterprises are more likely to offer pay rises, with 30% doing so, as are companies in transport and logistics, at 29%, and services, at 26%. Bonuses are relatively more common in retail, services and industry, where around one in five companies, or 19%–20%, use them.
Skills-development initiatives as a means of retaining employees are more frequently cited by public-sector organisations, at 21%, and transport and logistics companies, at 19%. These sectors are also more likely than others to offer employee benefits, at 23%. Measures focused on improving workplace comfort are more often undertaken by companies in retail and services, as well as public institutions, with 13% indicating action in this area.
Despite growing employer activity, more than one in four organisations, nearly 29%, either do not undertake retention measures at all or limit themselves to ad hoc responses. In the context of unfavourable demographic trends and difficulties filling vacancies, even moderate turnover can affect operational continuity, team effectiveness and business costs.
“Only three years ago, more than 40% of companies had no strategy to reduce turnover. This share is declining. More and more organisations recognise that employee departures are not merely a natural feature of the labour market, but an area that can and should be influenced in a meaningful way,” concludes Antonio Carvelli, CEO of Gi Group.
About the Report
The Labour Market Barometer 2026 is the 20th edition of a report prepared since 2014. It was developed by experts from Gi Group Holding on the basis of research conducted by SW Research, a market and public-opinion research agency. The employer survey was carried out using CATI interviews between 25 February and 9 March 2026, while the employee survey was conducted online using CAWI interviews between 23 February and 3 March 2026. The report’s partners include the Polish Entrepreneurs Federation, Polish HR Forum and Lewiatan Confederation.
Gi Group is an international employment and HR consulting agency founded in Italy in 1998. It specialises in recruitment and placement of temporary and permanent employees, HR process outsourcing, training and HR advisory services. The group operates in dozens of countries and serves businesses across a range of industries. It has been present in Poland since 2007 and is one of Europe’s largest recruitment companies.
Wyser, part of Gi Group Holding, is a global recruitment company operating in 12 countries. Its experienced consultants specialise in executive search and managerial recruitment. The company supports organisations in identifying their HR needs, matching candidate profiles to business expectations and helping managers build their careers consistently over time.
