Almost seventy percent of employees need an additional job

A survey on the need for additional work was conducted in June on the online portal posao.hr to see if employees are willing to take on freelance jobs, whether they are looking for them, and what types of jobs they are willing to accept.

The results showed that as many as 89 percent of respondents would be willing to do a job that is below their intellectual and professional capabilities if it were well paid. Despite the high interest in additional earnings, only 12 percent of respondents have an additional (freelance) job alongside their regular one. The survey involved 1,254 respondents, mostly aged between 25 and 34 years, primarily from the city of Zagreb and the Zagreb County.

A significant number of respondents, 43 percent, stated that they are dissatisfied with their income, while only 6 percent are satisfied, and as many as 4 percent of employed respondents do not receive a salary for their work. Covering basic living expenses is the largest item for many employees when managing their income. Specifically, 35 percent of respondents indicated that their income is sufficient to cover only basic living needs such as housing and food. Even 20 percent of respondents cannot cover these basic living needs with their income, and only 3 percent fully manage to meet all their living needs with their income.

As expected, the main motivation for finding additional work is extra earnings (55 percent), followed by gaining new experience (23 percent), learning something new (18 percent), and fun (4 percent). More than half of the respondents (57 percent) would spend their earnings from additional work on covering additional living needs such as clothing, education, internet, phones, and similar expenses, while 21 percent would use the additional earnings solely to cover basic living needs. It is also interesting to note that as many as 70 percent of respondents want to find an additional job, but they are unsuccessful. On the other hand, 25 percent of respondents who are considering additional work are not taking any concrete action in this regard.

The director of the portal posao.hr, Saša Jurković, emphasized that the survey results show that Croatian employees, during the current economic crisis, are ready to find additional work because the majority are dissatisfied with their income, which only allows them to meet basic living needs. ‘The willingness to work in freelance jobs during annual leave and the willingness to work after working hours indicate that the labor market is weakened and does not provide enough opportunities for all those who want to work, whether in permanent or freelance jobs,’ said Jurković.

Respondents would find free time for additional work mostly (41 percent) on weekdays after their regular job, and they could dedicate between 11 and 20 hours per week (33 percent). The expected net salary for a significant number of respondents (33 percent) would be between 21 and 35 kuna per hour, while 28 percent would not accept a salary lower than 36 – 50 kuna per hour. According to the survey results, the largest number of respondents – as many as 76 percent would even use their annual leave to find additional work.

In times of crisis, saving is a luxury that many respondents cannot afford. Specifically, 66 percent indicated that they do not invest in savings, investment funds, or life insurance because they do not generate any income at all or cannot afford it. This form of saving is practiced by only 29 percent of respondents, while only 5 percent do not invest in any forms of saving even though they could afford it. The most interesting sectors where respondents would find additional work are information technology, non-profit organizations, and tourism and hospitality, while police and security services, construction, and fashion and beauty are the sectors where respondents would least like to seek additional work. The majority of respondents (38 percent) have a secondary vocational education and work in the fields of information technology, administrative services, economics, electrical engineering, and science.