The most dissatisfied IT employees in Sweden and the Netherlands

After the challenging year 2022, especially young technology workers are increasingly returning to offices and are more satisfied with their jobs there.

The level of job satisfaction among young technology workers in Europe has increased again this year. The share of employees who feel dissatisfied with their position fell from 35 % in 2022 to 15 % in 2023.

The findings come from the Young Generation in Tech report (supported by Eight Roads Ventures Europe and HR platform HiBob), which surveyed 2,000 employees aged between 20 and 30 working in IT companies in seven countries: the UK, in Ireland, France, Spain and Germany, Sweden and the Netherlands.

Almost half of the respondents stated that they are "very satisfied" with their role, and 63 % intend to stay in their job in the near future. A year ago, the same group reported disillusionment, with one in four on the verge of leaving their workplace.

Meanwhile, the vast majority of respondents (82 %) stated that their experience at the company they work for "meets" or "exceeds expectations". As many as 77 %s said that they had been promoted at least once in the last 24 months.

Still, not everyone is satisfied. Among respondents, Dutch and Swedish technology workers reported the highest levels of dissatisfaction, at 17.7 % and 25.3 %, respectively. In addition, the majority of respondents from both countries expressed zero trust in the companies they work for. This figure reaches 32.2 % in Sweden and 38.7 % in the Netherlands, while the European average is 28.19 %. More worryingly, more than half of respondents in all regions said they were almost or completely distrustful.

Salary is still the main motivating factor

When asked whether to stay or leave a job, the top two most important factors were salary and promotion. Other motivations included company growth and success and job flexibility.

In addition to salary, respondents valued hybrid and flexible forms of work the most, followed by learning and development budgets and workplace well-being benefits. The four-day work model and the possibility of working from anywhere for a certain period of time came in fourth and sixth place.

Although flexibility is among the top priorities, young tech workers are returning to the office. More than half of all respondents stated that they prefer to work in an office four to five times a week. Hybrid work came in second with 34.49 %s, with nearly 40 % employees reporting feeling equally engaged at home and at the office.

Only 9.38 % respondents preferred remote work, with employees in Ireland and France most appreciating this type of work organization.

Adoption of artificial intelligence

Despite fears of AI taking over jobs, 78 % respondents were confident about the positive impact of technology on their role. Most of them stated that artificial intelligence will increase their productivity, efficiency and creativity, while only 11 % oppose the use of AI tools.