In general, loyal employees working for one employer for more than 5 years are in the minority on the labour market at only 27.5%. The largest group was those who were employed for less than 2 years.

This is the results of Paylab new study - international employee survey of employees conducted in January and February 2018 on a sample of 57,719 respondents from 12 European countries.

Loyalty to an employer largely depends on career growth inside the company. There is a significantly higher share of people working for one employer for more than 5 years among those currently working in lower, middle and top management positions. This is largely related to the fact that these people had to gradually work their way up the ladder within their careers. Work in management positions often provides employees with a broader perspective, an opportunity for realisation over the long-term and an attractive mix of financial and non-financial benefits.

Does it pay to be loyal to your employer?

In one hand new-hire employees, those working for an employer for less than a year, have the most intense feeling that loyalty pays off. On the other hand, people currently working for longer than 5 years for their current employer are more likely than new-hire employees to have the opinion that loyal employees do not have any special advantages within a company. This may be related to the fact that the salary system and compensation scheme is more intensively communicated to new-hire employees at job interviews.

Read more in Paylab Loyalty study summary.