The Dutch show less interest in technologies such as GenAI and – as in other countries - have skills that are not yet known to their employers. These are areas where employers still have a lot to gain, says Pieter Smit, a PwC specialist in workforce strategy.
Hopes & Fears 2024 surveyed 56,000 respondents worldwide, 1,500 of them were from the Netherlands. More than half of the Dutch respondents have an MBO or HBO education, are between 26 to 45 years old and have an office job.
Hybrid working is the norm
65 per cent of Dutch respondents with an office job now work hybrid, alternating between home and the office. This percentage has increased by four percent in the past year and is higher in the Netherlands than globally, where 58 per cent work hybrid. In practice, Pieter Smit sees employers trying to get people back into the office more often. 'In general, with little success. Hybrid working has become the norm since the Corona period, and we are not going to change that easily.'
Still, Smit believes employers could take more control when it comes to the days we come to work. 'Much to everyone's annoyance, traffic jams and office congestion have not diminished because we go to work en masse on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Employers could change this hugely inefficient use of resources by allocating days and time slots. Less traffic congestion from fuel-guzzling vehicles is also less polluting.'
The Dutch are satisfied with their jobs
Another striking finding of the 2024 Hopes & Fears Survey is that seventy per cent of Dutch employees are moderately to very satisfied with their job, compared to sixty percent of respondents worldwide. As many as 83 per cent of the Dutch feel that their current job is satisfying, compared to 76 per cent worldwide. Job security and income satisfaction are also higher in the Netherlands than globally (see graph).
The satisfaction of the Dutch is also reflected in questions about topics they might be concerned about. The Dutch are less worried than the rest of the world about job security (Netherlands 36 per cent, globally 47 per cent), the impact of climate change on work (Netherlands 33 per cent, globally 37 per cent), technological change (Netherlands 43 per cent, globally 46 per cent) and geopolitical conflicts (Netherlands 33 per cent, globally 38 per cent). When zooming in on the impact of various climate change consequences on work, such as extreme weather, heat stress or air pollution, the Dutch are also less concerned than the global group of employees.
Increased work pressure
'It's great that the majority of the Dutch feel so good about their work,' says Smit. 'Although the significantly lower level of concern about what is going on around them gives employers reason to prepare their employees more explicitly for possible changes in work.'
These changes prompt Smit to further nuance satisfaction. 'For example, among the most important changes that employees have experienced in the past year, we see that for 46 per cent the workload has increased significantly in the past year. Looking at age groups, the experience of work pressure increases as people get younger. Among the youngest generation Z (18-27 year olds), 56 percent reported an increase in workload, compared to 34 percent among those over sixty. Work pressure was also a major topic in the 2023 survey – at that time, more than a third of respondents from the youngest generation felt that work pressure was too high.'
The changes that employees are experiencing at work, such as changes in job responsibilities, team structure and workload, come as no surprise to Smit: 'Our most recent CEO Survey showed that more than a third of CEOs believe that the company will not be viable if they do not make changes. So, these changes are now being experienced by employees.'
Less interest in generative AI
Smit sees another interesting result in the response to generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) with programmes such as ChatGPT and Copilot. The group of Dutch people who have never used GenAI tools is eight to ten percent larger than the international group. And the expectation that GenAI offers opportunities to learn new skills is lower among the Dutch (71 per cent) than globally (76 per cent). Meanwhile, only 65 per cent of the Dutch are confident that GenAI will improve the quality of their work (72 per cent globally).
Smit: 'This lower interest in the Netherlands goes hand in hand with another important difference. When asked why they have not used GenAI, only thirteen per cent of Dutch people say that their employer does not give them access to these tools, compared to 24 per cent worldwide. So lack of access is less of a problem here, but a proportion of people do not seem to expect much from it.'
Hopes and Fears
Do not underestimate the impact of GenAI
'Combined with our job satisfaction, this reluctance to embrace new technologies makes me feel uneasy. Are the Dutch more like frogs in this slowly but surely warming pot of water than the international group?’ wonders Smit.
'In the CEO Survey, we already saw that the majority of CEOs expect technological change to have a significant impact. In our GenAI@Work study, we found that 44 per cent of Dutch jobs are highly exposed to GenAI. The Hopes & Fears 2024 figures show that employers really need to step up their game to make the impact of GenAI on their business clear, and then get employees to discover and embrace the new technology. GenAI can help increase efficiency, manage the workload mentioned and potentially even improve job security and salaries.’
Employees consider learning new skills important
The 2024 Hopes & Fears Survey also asked respondents about their skills. 41 per cent of Dutch respondents indicated that they have skills that are not obvious from their qualifications, work history or job title. In addition, almost half of the global respondents indicated that the opportunity to learn new skills was an important factor in their decision to move to a new employer.
Smit: 'These figures show that there is a wealth of untapped potential and that a large group of employees consider learning new skills important. We have already seen in the CEO Survey that more than half of CEOs see a lack of skills among employees as an obstacle to transformation. Access to learning, development and self-development is a retention tool in the war for talent. It is up to employers to create mechanisms to recognise and value hidden skills and to provide opportunities for employees to learn new skills.'
Technology and skills as a starting point
To sum up, Smit points to the tight labour market that will persist in the Western world in the coming decades and to the decline in productivity in the Netherlands. 'Technology, as I said, is one of the solutions to these problems, and for this you must actively get your employees on board. A skills first approach is another important way. Every CEO needs to ask: what skills do I need in the coming years and what do I have in-house? The Hopes & Fears Survey 2024 shows that there is room for improvement on both topics.'
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