Society's Structure Affects Working Culture

PageGroup's Confidence Index survey is conducted quarterly throughout the European countries, including Türkiye. The results of the research that keeps up with the business life from the employee point of view vary according to the country's internal dynamics and habits. There are interesting results from the Confidence Index Survey in the last quarter of 2017.

Job Security:

48% in Türkiye feel secure with their work while in the other European countries included in the survey, this rate is 45%.

General Working Conditions:

A majority of employees in Türkiye, 52%, stated that they were pleased with the general working conditions. The rate of dissatisfaction is 3%. The satisfaction in the European countries taking part in the survey in the general working conditions is 46% while the rate of dissatisfaction is 6%.

Salary Satisfaction:

36% of candidates from Türkiye, who took part in the research, is satisfied with their salary. However, 28% is not satisfied. The salary satisfaction results from the other participant countries is 35%.

Satisfaction of Opportunity for Promotion:

While about 33% of respondents in Türkiye state, they are dissatisfied with promotion opportunities, 10% express they are very dissatisfied. In European countries included in the survey, 40% are dissatisfied with the promotion opportunities. While 18% of them are very dissatisfied.

 Working within a sensitive sector:

72% of the employees in Türkiye are willing to work in sensitive sectors like alcohol and tobacco. The average result for the same question in European countries in the survey is 67%.

The experts evaluating the interesting data observed that the results are shaped not only by the developments in the country and the economy, but also by the profiles of employees.

In the Confidence Index Survey that regularly asses the employees' perception of the job market and economy, it is observed that Turkish positive perception on the job market has weakened from 40 percent in 2016 to 33 percent in 2017. Based on the rise in inflation, concerns about macroeconomic decline can be cited as the main reasons for this decline. Despite fluctuations in the market, the ongoing positive approach can only be explained by the internal dynamics of business life in Türkiye. 

Although there is a fall by 7 percent on the positive outlook on the job market from 2016 to 2017, hopes to find a new job remains high. In particular, the fear of losing job for qualified employee is less than in Europe. It is observed that the underlying causes of this sense of trust are directly connected to the working culture and country standards.

The effects of the emotional way of life in Türkiye are clearly visible in the business world. Employees who see their workplace as a family and have strong connections with their bosses and colleagues are not easily separated from their familiar environment. Employees in Europe can change their working environment in the interests of their career without thinking. While quitting a job in Türkiye is perceived as a traumatic event, employees in Europe are not shaken up that much by being laid off. Employees in European countries can quickly consider government-provided unemployment benefits when they leave their work. Most employers in Türkiye does not prefer this option unless it is completely necessary. Knowing that the employee also feels safe in his job. The biggest supporter of the unemployed and laid off in Türkiye is their family. Even if he is unemployed, he finds the support from his family. However, it is not possible to say those who are unemployed in Europe receive that much support from their families. 

Regarding the population, the number of the qualified employees in Türkiye is lower, compared to Europe. Turkish employees think it is harder for them to be laid off. They foresee that they cannot be easily removed from their jobs. There are more corporate structured companies in Europe and firms of this nature can easily remove employees from work with the slightest reason. 

Compared to other European countries salary and promotion satisfaction in Türkiye also remains high. Working standards expectations are often directly proportional to meeting basic needs. An employee who has provided a good salary, transportation and basic fringe benefits does not seem to be in a different expectation. As a result, trends in European countries such as flexibility in working hours and mobile working systems are not common in our country, so expectations based on these trends are not high. It is our observation that; as the expectations rise, the rate of easy satisfaction decreases.

Peculiar dynamics of the business world in Türkiye and the mind set of employees increases the feeling of confidence and satisfaction. The effects of fluctuations in the market and the economy on business life can be observed more mildly in Türkiye than in Europe.

See the full index here.

This article was written by Fatih Cömert, Director at Michael Page