Average Belgian stays 11 years with the same employer and switches jobs thrice

Average seniority (the number of years you work for an employer) is 4 per cent higher than a decade ago. In 2014, working Belgians stayed with the same employer for about 10.9 years. Today it is 11.3 years.

‘This does not mean that people are stuck in the same job. Training and adaptability opportunities mean employers are offering their employees a lot of opportunities to themselves change what their job involves,’ career transition manager Miet Vanhegen says.    

Large companies keep their employees on board for longer, up to 15.5 years. SMEs see employees come and go more quickly: the smaller the company, the higher the turnover.

‘SMEs do not have the same resources in terms of job offers and development opportunities. The business context changes constantly meaning mobility is higher. Larger organisations can put more effort into training or making jobs work, so people stay longer while what their job involves changes,’ says Ms Vanhegen.

Belgians are not big job hoppers

‘There is a perception that due to the influx of young people into the labour market, who switch employer more often, average seniority is falling. Nothing could be further from the truth,’ Ms Vanhegen adds.

For every ‘job hopper’ there is an older worker who is less likely to change jobs. We all have to work longer too!

Even the years of the corona pandemic, when we all had time to think about our working lives, have not affected our loyalty towards our employer.