Austria is the favourite career destination for Slovenians, while Slovenia is the most desired job destination for workers from Bosnia-Herzegovina and Serbia, a survey by employment portal Mojedelo.com and the Boston Consulting Group has shown.

The survey, conducted among 150,000 respondents from 188 countries, including 772 Slovenians, showed that 25% of respondents would be willing to work abroad, but the share among Slovenians is only 6%. If only young people from Slovenia are considered, 11% would move abroad.

Among the Slovenians surveyed, students (18%) are the most eager to work abroad, followed by volunteers and those working for non-profits (14%), and engineers and technical staff (13%).

The number of Slovenians willing to work remotely for an employer abroad has increased by two points to 68% compared to 2020.

Remote work abroad

"Despite the waning readiness of Slovenians to work abroad, which is well below the global average, we see a simultaneous increase in the willingness to work remotely for a foreign employer, Melanie Seier Larsen, managing director and partner at BCG, commented on the results.

She said this parallel trend reflects the desire to maintain domestic stability and quality of life while taking advantage of global job opportunities.

"Changes in work habits and values since the pandemic have undoubtedly reinforced this dual approach, which brings flexibility without the need for a geographical move," she added.

Austria, Germany and Switzerland are still the most desirable countries for Slovenians to work in, the same as in 2020.

Financial and economic reasons are the most frequently cited reasons for moving to another country for a job (78%), followed by concrete job offers (67%) and better working conditions in general (64%).

The top reason why respondents would prefer to work from home is the inability to bring family members or a partner to another country. This is followed by the language barrier, with attachment to the home country and the cost of relocation sharing third place.

Slovenia 66th career destination globally

Slovenia is the most attractive destination for workers from Bosnia-Herzegovina (listed by 10.8% of respondents) followed by those from Serbia (6.5%), Pakistan (2.2%) and Hungary (1.2%).

Globally, Slovenia is the 66th favourite career destination. Australia, the USA, Canada and the UK top the list, followed by Germany, Japan and Singapore.

Ljubljana ranks 107th among the cities where people would like to work. London tops the list, followed by Amsterdam, and Dubai and Abu Dhabi in third place.

Quality of life is the top reason why people would like to move to Slovenia, followed by job opportunities, job security and job stability.