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According to the Talent Pulse 2025 survey conducted by Acerta Consult and Stepstone, professional mobility in Belgium has reached its highest level in a decade. Nearly one in four employees is actively looking for a new job. In this context, retaining employees has become a real challenge for Belgian companies.
What does this survey reveal about the current job market dynamics and what employees truly expect from their employers?
The study shows that 22.3% of Belgian employees are actively seeking a new job, a level not seen since 2015. In addition, 51.8% are not actively looking but remain open to new opportunities in the short or medium term.
Only 1 in 4 employees say they want to stay with their current employer. A figure that should alert any organization concerned with stability and talent retention.
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Contrary to popular belief, salary is not the main reason for leaving. The top reason is lack of development opportunities (37%), followed by salary (31%) and a misalignment between personal values and company culture (30%).
Another telling figure: 16.1% of respondents cite poor relationship with their manager as a reason for wanting to quit. While not the main cause, this highlights the importance of the managerial relationship in daily engagement and, ultimately, in employee retention.
Expectations are clear: to grow, to align with the company’s values, and to feel that their work matters. Employees want to see their company’s promises turn into daily reality: well-being, recognition, future prospects. A gap between words and actions can be enough to trigger a desire to leave.
Take this example: a high-potential employee who has been promised more responsibility for two years but whose role hasn’t evolved. If no clarity is provided on next steps, this employee may start considering outside offers, even in a positive work environment. It’s not just about a good atmosphere, it’s about clear, consistent career paths that match individual aspirations.
There are often early warning signs: declining engagement, loss of purpose, interpersonal tensions. To detect them, it’s essential to create a safe and regular space for expression. At eBloom, our clients use anonymous feedback tools, evolution dashboards, and targeted surveys to anticipate and act.
For instance, the weekly micro-surveys from our Click&Bloom tool help track employee sentiment on topics such as workload, role clarity, or manager relationships. In addition, development questionnaires offer insight into professional development goals, ambitions, and individual desires. This gives companies greater clarity and helps them align their actions. By quickly identifying a drop in any of these indicators, a company can take targeted action before disengagement turns into resignation.
The goal isn’t to block mobility, but to channel it internally. Offering growth paths, making opportunities visible, and valuing skills are powerful levers to help your employees grow within your organization.
The Talent Pulse 2025 study is a wake-up call: employees aren’t running away from companies, they’re running away from the lack of perspective. The figures speak volumes: the majority remain open to change due to a lack of growth or cultural alignment.
Today, retaining employees takes more than offering a good salary. It requires understanding their aspirations, offering concrete prospects, nurturing the manager relationship, and detecting early signs of disengagement. By focusing on these levers, companies can turn the desire to leave into a desire to stay and thrive.
Curious to see how eBloom can help you structure engagement and talent development? Book a discovery call with one of our experts.
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