Well-being remains Europe's top HR topic

The provider of HR and payroll solutions SD Worx regularly conducts comprehensive surveys. The current analysis of the "HR & Payroll Pulse" is based on a survey conducted in February 2025 in 16 European countries: Belgium, Germany, Finland, France, Great Britain, Ireland, Italy, Croatia, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania, Sweden, Serbia, Slovenia and Spain. A total of 5,625 employers and 16,000 employees took part. The results provide a representative picture of the labor market in the respective countries.

The latest results show: Employee wellbeing remains the top HR issue in Europe. This is closely followed by employee retention (25 percent) and recruiting new talent (24 percent). Other key topics are employee experience and employee engagement (23% each) as well as remuneration and benefits (22%).

Employee well-being remains key - but is losing priority

The five biggest challenges facing European employers in the area of HR management have hardly changed in 2025 compared to the previous year. Nevertheless, employers appear to view these challenges as less serious overall: While 37% of employers still considered employee wellbeing to be a key challenge in 2024, this figure is down to 28% in 2025 - although in Croatia, Norway and Slovenia, this issue is still considered a key challenge among employers.

Employee retention follows at 25% (2024: 33%), followed by the recruitment of new talent at 24% (2024: 34%) - this remains a major challenge, particularly in Belgium, France and the Netherlands. The relevance of employee experience and employee engagement is also decreasing slightly, at 23% in 2025 (2024: 27%). A new addition to the top 5 is "remuneration and benefits", which at 22% (2024: 21%) displaces training and retraining for the first time, making it the only top 5 challenge to rise slightly from 21% (2024) to 22% (2025). In Germany, the distribution of the European top 5 is slightly different: Employee retention is in first place with 32 percent, followed by flexible working models with 28 percent. In third place is "remuneration and social benefits" (26%). Employee well-being (22 percent) and recruitment (21 percent) occupy fourth and fifth place.

While some topics are losing priority, other HR challenges are becoming more of a focus and are each increasing by 3 percentage points compared to the previous year: in 2025, 17% of employers see compliance with labour law requirements as a central and challenging task, followed by payroll optimization (14%). Career management and internal mobility also increase from 11 to 13 percent compared to the previous year.

Mental stress is increasing - especially among younger people

The emotional, physical and social well-being of employees - summarized under the term mental health - poses challenges for many companies and organizations. 39% of employers consider it a major challenge - an impression that is also shared by employees: 34% of employees surveyed in Germany do not feel healthy or fit at work, and a full 60% of German respondents consider their work to be mentally stressful or demanding. Stress levels also increase with age: while 46% of under 25-year-olds consider them to be high, the figure is already 57% for over 25-year-olds.

Not without consequences: Almost one in five employees (18 percent) was absent from work last year due to mental problems - a quarter of those under 35, 18 percent of 35 to 49-year-olds and 11 percent of 50 to 64-year-olds.

Talent shortage remains an acute problem

Despite the high relevance of employee retention, many employees are loyal: only 13% are actively looking for a new employer, while a further 13% are looking to move within their own company. Nevertheless, both employers and employees are feeling the increasing shortage of skilled workers: 44% of employees report a shortage of staff in their team and 45% expect this to worsen in the coming years. Among employers, the figures are as high as 46% and 53% respectively.

Internal mobility is seen as key to the future viability of companies. "Internal mobility enables companies to retain and develop talent in a tight labor market," says Jan Laurijssen, HR Ambassador at SD Worx. "Over ten percent of employees are actively looking for a new position within their company - an opportunity for both sides to create long-term and sustainable career prospects. Through targeted career advice and training, companies can promote a growth-oriented culture - and thus strengthen both their agility and their attractiveness in a changing world of work."

Source and further information: SD Worx