Employee retention
Willingness to Change Jobs in Austria: 44% Open to Job Switch
- Willingness to change
- Employee retention
- Retention
- Study
According to the XING Willingness to Change Study 2025 (conducted by forsa), 44% of employees in Austria are open to changing jobs – 9% are planning it specifically for 2025, while an additional 35% are open, but not yet actively searching. Among Generation Z (18–29), this figure is even 59%. For employers, this presents both an opportunity and a risk: The market is in motion, and retention becomes a competitive factor.
How willing is Austria to change jobs?
The XING Willingness to Change Study 2025 (forsa) measures annually how many employees are open to changing jobs. The figure has remained remarkably stable over the past few years.
- 44% are generally open to a change (2024: 43%).
- 9% are concretely planning to change employers in 2025, with another 35% open but not actively looking yet.
- Willingness to change remains stable over six years—with an outlier in 2023 (52%).
Young employees are particularly open
The willingness increases significantly with decreasing age—a crucial signal for employer branding and retention.
- Generation Z (18–29 years): 59% are open to a new job.
- 14% of Gen Z are already concretely planning their exit.
The Blind Spot: Emotional Attachment
Willingness to change jobs is closely linked to engagement. The Gallup Engagement Index highlights a weakness here: only a small portion of employees are emotionally strongly attached to their employers.
Gallup Engagement Index
Austria ranks low in Europe with about 11% of employees being emotionally strongly attached (32nd out of 38). Low attachment is the breeding ground for willingness to change jobs.
What Employers Can Do About It
An active market means: Even passively searching, well-integrated specialists are reachable – through a strong employer brand and direct contact. Conversely, strong attachment pays off doubly, as every avoidable resignation is costly.
Frequently Asked Questions
According to the XING Willingness to Change Study 2025, 44% are open to change; 9% are planning it specifically for 2025.
Generation Z (18–29 years): 59% are open to a new job, 14% are already specifically planning the switch.
Only about 11% of employees are emotionally strongly attached to their employer – a low value in European comparison (32nd out of 38).
Sources
The mentioned numbers are from the respective cited studies (as of 2024/2025). We summarize them to the best of our knowledge; for details and methodology, please refer to the linked original sources.
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