environmental and social concerns have never been so important in choosing an employer

It was Randstad Research's 19th study of employer brands in Belgium's largest private-sector employers, and 14,000 people participated. This time the investigation also included the public sector. It was the first time that the public sector had been studied during a period of economic growth. What did they discover? In general, it remains more attractive to work for the public sector than for the private sector. Around 42% consider it attractive to work for a specific public employer. The average score in the private sector is 34%. The pharmaceuticals sector (45%) is the only individual sector to be considered slightly more attractive than the public sector. An important aspect is that these findings do not apply to young people (under the age of 25). This group even considers the public sector a little less attractive than the private sector (33.3% and 34.9% respectively).

However, the gap between the public and private sector has closed considerably. In 2012 (recession), the difference in attractiveness reached as many as 16% points (43 and 27% respectively). This difference has now halved (42% and 34%).

Therefore, the public sector also remains considerably more attractive than the private sector even when the economy is booming. This is not such a big surprise. Job security remains a very important reason to choose an employer, and the public sector naturally scores better in this domain. However, in terms of salary too - currently by far the most important criteria for choosing an employer - the public sector can easily compete with the private sector. The public sector also scores a whole lot better than the private sector when it comes to work-life balance, job content, development prospects, and environmental and social care. This is an important discovery considering today's growing shortages.

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