Romanian Workplace Performance Study First in Market Economy

A study published by the Romanian National Trade Union Bloc in November 2010 reveals that only 46.8% of the employees interviewed considered that their performance on the job is assessed regularly and in an organized manner.

 

 

According to the European Working Conditions Observatory (EWCO), the study also found significant differences between the opinions of employees in state-owned companies and employees in the private sector. Variations were also found in the frequency of assessment depending on respondents’ level of education. (WCxKit)

 

 

The National Trade Union Bloc (BNS) published the results of a study on working conditions, satisfaction and performance at work undertaken by a team of Romanian and foreign experts coordinated by Senior Lecturer Liviu Voinea of the Academy of Economic Studies in Bucharest. The study was part of a project called ‘Office for the Monitoring of the Labor Market and Quality of Workplaces’, which was co-funded by the European Social Fund in Romania (ESF) through its Human Resources Development Operational Program 2007–2013.

 

 

The survey is the first in Romania on this topic since the transition to a market economy. A parallel inquiry was carried out on issues to do with working conditions. A similar inquiry is planned for 2011 as part of the same project. The study is based on a survey carried out throughout Romania during the last three weeks of July and the first two weeks of August 2010. The survey used face-to-face interviews and involved 3,627 employees aged 15 and over. The response rate was 97% (3,528 individuals).

 

 

To reflect the actual ratio between the number of employees in public and private enterprises, the respondents from the private sector were 2.5 times more numerous than those in the public sector. The study is based on the answers to 44 questions grouped in three sections: working conditions; satisfaction at the workplace; employees’ work performance.

 

 

A parallel inquiry was carried out among employers on issues to do with working conditions and their employees’ performance at work. It included a sample of the top 100 companies in Romania ranked in terms of turnover and number of workers.

 

 

Less than half of the respondents (46.8%) considered that work assessment on the job is carried out regularly and in an organized manner. For 36.0% of the respondents assessment was every year, while for 6.6% it was less frequent. Assessment of performance on the job was considered to be carried out regularly and in an organized manner by 68.2% of the public sector employees, but only 38.4% of the employees in the private sector. For just over half (57.8%) the employees in the public sector, workplace performance is assessed every year, while the same applies only to 27.5% of the employees in the private sector. The results reveal that the higher the level of education, the higher the share of employees undergoing assessment of their work performance in 2010.

 

 

Approximately 65.4% of holders of academic degrees and 30.8% of graduates of primary and secondary schools stated that their work was evaluated regularly. For those with middle education (high school or post high school), 43.1% reported regular assessment of their work performance. Annual assessment was less frequent among employees with a lower level of education (23.7% of the number of employees) compared to 32.7% of high school and post high-school graduates. (WCxKit)

 

 

With regards to the relationship between work performance assessment and earnings, one of the conclusions drawn from the responses is that only 55.3% of the employees who said that their workplace performances were assessed regularly and in an organized manner deemed that their wage earnings were commensurate with their work.