Romanian employers seem to have a benefits problem, and this is not because they don’t offer enough. Quite the opposite. Job adverts are packed with benefits: meal vouchers, private healthcare, gym memberships, flexible schedules, remote work, training budgets, extra leave and the occasional office perk thrown in for good measure.
The problem is that employers don’t always know which ones employees actually care about.
And the latest numbers give us a pretty clear answer.
According to Randstad Romania’s 2026 Workmonitor, 82% of Romanian employees say salary is the most important factor when choosing a new job. But ask why they stay, and the answer changes. 48% say work-life balance is the main reason they remain with their current employer, compared with 30% who put pay first
That tells us something employers should pay attention to.
The benefit that gets someone to accept your offer isn’t necessarily the benefit that keeps them there.
Salary Still Sets the Tone
Let’s get this out of the way first.
Romanian employees have not suddenly decided that money doesn’t matter.
It does.
When people are considering a new job, salary sits at the top of the list. Randstad found that 82% of Romanian employees consider it the most important factor in choosing a new position.
This matters because companies sometimes try to build elaborate benefits packages around a salary that isn’t competitive.
A gym membership won’t make up for a salary that is significantly below what the market is offering.
Neither will free coffee.
Employers competing for skilled people need to get the basic financial proposition right before worrying about the extras.
Then Something Changes Once People Are Inside
Here’s where the numbers become more interesting.
Salary gets people interested in moving. Work-life balance helps convince them to stay.
Almost half of Romanian employees surveyed by Randstad identified work-life balance as their main reason for remaining with their current employer. Only 30% selected pay.
That should change how employers think about retention.
A company might spend money trying to make its benefits package look impressive while overlooking something far more important: whether employees have enough time and freedom outside work.
A person can appreciate a good salary and still leave because the job has taken over their life.
Also read: Top 7 IT Recruitment Mistakes Companies Make in Europe
Flexibility Is No Longer a Nice Extra
The Romanian numbers around flexibility are difficult to ignore.
40% of employees would not accept a new job without location flexibility, while 42% would reject one without flexibility around working hours.
For employers recruiting IT professionals, this matters even more because many technology workers have already experienced remote or hybrid working.
Taking that flexibility away can make a vacancy less attractive before a recruiter has even spoken to the candidate.
And flexibility doesn’t necessarily mean everyone works wherever they want, whenever they want.
It can mean allowing someone to start earlier because they need to collect their children. It can mean working from home on certain days. It can mean giving an employee more control over how they organise their working hours.
The details will differ from company to company.
The desire for some control over those details is what matters.
Employees Also Notice Benefits That Save Them Money
Some benefits don’t need much explanation.
Meal cards are a good example.
A 2025 survey of Romanian employees found meal cards among the most appreciated fringe benefits, alongside gift cards, holiday cards and cultural cards. Additional days off and insurance were also highly valued. (agerpres.ro)
There is a reason these benefits work.
They have an obvious connection to everyday life.
An employee doesn’t have to wonder what a meal card is worth. They use it.
The same applies to additional leave. The 2025 survey found that 54% of employees would like more days off, while 70% said days off have a significant impact on their performance
When deciding between another office perk and another day away from work, employees may have a surprisingly clear preference.
Private Healthcare and Insurance Have Practical Value
Insurance is another benefit that tends to have a more obvious value than some of the fashionable perks employers promote.
In the same Romanian survey, 38% of respondents identified insurance as an important benefit.
Health-related benefits can also influence how employees view the security of a job.
That becomes particularly relevant when companies are competing for experienced professionals who have several employment options.
If two employers offer similar salaries, the details around healthcare, insurance, leave and flexibility can suddenly become much more important.
The small print can decide the big decision.
Career Growth Is Part of the Package Too
There is another benefit that doesn’t always appear under the word “benefits.”
Growth.
Employees want to know what happens after they take the job.
Randstad Romania’s 2025 HR Trends research shows employers are already investing in areas including cybersecurity, communication, creative and critical thinking, sustainability and wellbeing. Coaching and mentoring are also appearing in employers’ benefits strategies.
For IT professionals, this is especially relevant.
Technology changes quickly. Someone joining a company today wants some confidence that their skills will still be valuable two or three years from now.
A training budget is useful.
A clear path to more responsibility is better.
The Strange Gap Between What Companies Know and What They Do
Perhaps the most revealing number in the 2026 Randstad research isn’t about salary or remote work.
It’s about autonomy.
75% of employers agree that greater autonomy can improve engagement, productivity and retention. Yet 85% do not allow employees to set their own schedules.
That is a fairly large gap between what employers say they value and what employees actually experience.
And it raises a useful question.
Why spend more money adding benefits if the organisation is unwilling to give people more control over their working lives?
Sometimes the problem isn’t the benefits package.
It’s the job itself.
Final Thoughts
The answer depends on where the employee is in the decision.
When choosing a job, salary is the big one.
When deciding whether to stay, work-life balance becomes much more important.
When comparing similar offers, flexibility, additional leave, meal cards, insurance and other practical benefits can help tip the balance.
For employees thinking about their longer-term career, learning opportunities, progression and autonomy matter too.
That gives employers a much more useful way to think about benefits.
Don’t ask, “How many benefits can we put on the job advert?”
Ask, “Which parts of this job will actually make someone’s working life better?”
That might mean a competitive salary.
It might mean letting someone work from home.
It might mean an extra few days of leave.
It might mean private healthcare.
Or it might mean giving a good employee enough freedom to decide how they get their work done.
The companies that understand that distinction will probably have an easier time competing for Romanian talent.
Because employees aren’t really looking for the longest benefits list.
They’re looking for a job that makes sense for their lives.
