The survey of 1,500 Austrian executives found optimism about the economic outlook but deep dissatisfaction with economic policy. While over 46% felt positive about the future, only 13% thought politicians improved the situation and over 34% felt policies had negative effects. Executives criticized the failure to reform taxes and reduce high labor costs. Despite this, over 90% expected neutral or positive economic development, reflecting confidence in business to drive the economy. The survey also found increasing stress levels among executives and a high willingness to change jobs.

1. Februar, 2012
Manager Barometer 2013
A survey gauging the mood of Austria’s top
executives

2. 2© Stanton Chase International 2© Stanton Chase International
Austria’s top executives criticise
economic policy
The Stanton Chase Manager
Barometer 2013
Survey of 1,500 decision makers:
On the road to recovery – Austria’s executives are increasingly
optimistic
Criticism of economic policy – deep dissatisfaction with the
problem-solving competence of politicians
Continuing high level of willingness among executives to change
jobs - increasing stress levels

3. 3© Stanton Chase International
Contents
I. Executive summary
II. Current situation and criticism of economic policy
III. Work, leisure time – and stress
IV. Willingness to move jobs
V. Stanton Chase International

4. 4© Stanton Chase International 4© Stanton Chase International
I. Executive Summary
Since 2010, international executive search
company Stanton Chase has carried out an
extensive annual survey of the opinions of
Austria’s top executives, monitoring their views
on the general economic situation and their
expectations for the year. This year again 1,500
top executives and managers took part in the
survey. Results indicate a general mood of
optimism with regard to economic outlook while
there is deep dissatisfaction with current
economic policy.
Optimism – trend reversal
Findings of the latest Manager Barometer show
that over 46 per cent of managers surveyed are
“positive” about the future. This represents an
about-turn and indicates a reversal in the trend
seen in last year’s results, which showed the
broad majority as having poor expectations for
the future with only 20 per cent feeling positive
about economic developments. Currently, only
4.7 per cent of managers are “negative” about
the situation as it stands.
Criticism of economic policy
There was, however, extremely strong criticism
of Austrian politicians with top executives
expressing deep dissatisfaction with their
problem solving competence. Only 13 per cent
think that policymakers have contributed
towards improving the economic situation. Just
over 34 per cent consider government policy to
have had negative or very negative effects on
developments in the economic situation.
Willingness to move jobs and
increasing stress levels
The traditionally high level of willingness among
managers to move jobs is again clearly reflected
in this year’s survey results. When asked about
their level of interest in a job move, 85 per cent
said they would be “interested” in a job move
and 46 per cent said they would be “very
interested”. Results of the survey link the desire
to move jobs with sinking levels of tolerance to
stress. While two years ago only 10 per cent of
respondents complained of feeling overwhelmed
at work, this has now risen to 16.4 per cent.

5. 5© Stanton Chase International
On the road to recovery
Is the economic crisis coming to an end – not
just on the international stock markets but in the
real economy too? Compared to previous
years, there is a high level of optimism among
Austria’s top managers that this is the case.
Results of the survey carried out by leading
executive search company Stanton Chase
reveal that over 46 per cent of executives are
positive about what the future holds. This is
over double the level in last year’s survey. Only
4.7 per cent said they were “negative” about the
current economic situation. It is also interesting
to note the difference in responses given by
male and female executives with male
respondents feeling considerably more positive
than their female counterparts (49 per cent
compared to 33 per cent).
We’re doing fine - but others are
doing better still
“We’re doing fine but others are doing even
better”. This is a form of optimism clearly widely
prescribed to by Austria’s top executives. More
than 47 per cent of managers describe the
mood in their company as being optimistic or
very optimist. Yet, on the other hand, the overall
economic situation is rated as being better than
that of their own company. Could this signify
that there’s something of a gap here between
mood and reality? After all, satisfaction levels
with regard to developments within their own
companies remain about the same as last year.
Yet this year’s survey shows that 30 per cent of
top executives rate the mood within their own
company as being even better than in 2011/12.
Executives in the technology sector are the
most optimistic with 54 per cent stating that
they consider their own company to be
undergoing a positive development.
II. Current situation and criticism of
economic policy
Current mood in the company
Neutral
35.5%
Pessimistic
15.5%
Optimistic
42.8%
Very optimistic
4.0%Neutral
48.6%
Negative
4.7%
Very positive
0.6%
Positive
46.1%
Economic development in Austria
Very pessimistic
2.1%

6. 6© Stanton Chase International 6© Stanton Chase International
Failing policies
There is, however, strong criticism of Austria‘s
politicians with top executives having little
confidence in their problem-solving
competence. A mere 13 per cent consider the
situation to have been improved by Austria’s
policymakers. Just over 34 per cent believe
politicians to have had a negative or a very
negative influence on developments in the
current economic situation.
Managers in the finance sector are particular
critical. Over 57 per cent believe policies are
having a clearly negative impact in their
particular sector. “This is a clear indication of
the negative view taken with regard to the
proposed introduction of a financial transaction
tax in Austria”, says Franz Rois from Stanton
Chase Austria. When asked about the effects
policies are having on their own companies,
managers are even more critical - only 11 per
cent say they feel their business is being
supported by Austria’s policies.
Strong desire for tax reform and
lowering of labour costs
Criticism of government policy is also influenced
by the disappointment caused by the failure to
introduce the repeatedly promised and hoped
for reforms, in particular with respect to lowering
Austria’s high labour costs, which are a heavy
burden on business and are among the highest
in Europe.
“What top executives are looking to see most
from politicians is a tax reform that really
delivers the promised benefits”, explains Gert
Herold from Stanton Chase. Survey results
show tax reform and a reduction in labour costs
as being priority concerns for managers.
Government policy is not helping
business – business needs to
help itself
So why is the prevailing mood still so positive?
Austria’s top executives clearly remain confident
of their ability to drive the economy despite
unpopular government policies. Under the motto
“If government policy isn’t helping business then
business needs to help itself”, over 90 per cent
of respondents expect to see neutral, positive or
very positive development in the economic
situation within the coming months.
Negative
28.6%
Supportive
11.4%
Neutral
59.9%
Impact of economic policy on my
company

7. 7© Stanton Chase International
Finding the balance
The majority of top executives are clearly happy
to spend time at the office. 95 per cent say they
really like or like going to work in the morning.
Only 4.9 per cent say they are “not too keen” to
get to work. Nevertheless, stress seems to be
an increasingly important issue for Austrian
executives. Whereas two years ago just 10 per
cent complained of excessive demands in the
workplace, results from this year’s survey show
that 16.4 per cent of managers now claim to
suffer from stress. Only 23 per cent say they
have a “low” level of job-related stress.
Executives are attaching increasing importance
to their private lives, looking to balance stress at
work through time spent with their family. 74 per
cent of respondents say they prefer to relax by
spending time with their family and 75 per say
they exercise to relax. Out of working hours,
managers are clearly happy to spend time away
from the computer with only 9 per cent stating
that they use the internet or play computer
games to relax. Modern relaxation techniques
such as yoga appear to play a rather limited role
here with only 10 per cent of executives saying
they use relaxation techniques as a way of
recharging their batteries. Survey results also
revealed some interesting gender-specific
differences. Women, for example, prefer
relaxing in the company of friends much more
than men do. In response to a question related
to the dual burden of combining work and
family, women claimed to relax much less by
spending time with their family than men did.
Interestingly, survey results reveal that 29 per
cent of men but only 22 per cent of women say
they like to relax by spending time with their
families.
Should young people follow in
their parents footsteps when it
comes to careers? Not
necessarily…
When asked if they would recommend their
career to others, for example to their own
children or to young relatives, managers’
responses enabled interesting conclusions to be
drawn on their own levels of job satisfaction. 44
per cent of respondents said “yes” they would
recommend it while 56 per cent said they would
recommend that young people choose a
different career. Compared with their male
counterparts, female respondents claimed to be
much less satisfied with their chosen career. 69
per cent of women said they would advise
members of the younger generation against
entering their profession.
Generally speaking, it’s clear that the current
generation of managers did not feel entirely free
to choose the career they embarked on. Across
the board, survey respondents say they hope
members of the younger generation have more
freedom when it comes to choosing a job and
greater opportunities to take their own interests
or preferences into account.
III. Work, leisure time – and stress
0% 25% 50% 75% 100%
Exercising
Spending time with my family
Spending time with friends
Watching TV
Taking breaks at work
On the internet or playing computer games
“How do you like to relax?”

8. 8© Stanton Chase International 8© Stanton Chase International
Social media: more Facebook –
more Twitter
Social media is of growing importance – not
only for personal communication but also for
companies. When asked about their company's
internet presence, 58 per cent of respondents
said their company had a Facebook page and
26 per cent said their company was also on
Twitter.
A surprisingly high proportion of top executives
(28 per cent) said their company does not use
any of the social media platforms. A question
asked about internal company rules on the use
of Facebook etc. for private purposes in
company time also prompted a surprising result.
Employers appear to give their staff something
of a free reign in this area: in 63 per cent of
company managers said that they are not aware
of or that there are no rules in their workplace
regarding use of social media.
As could be expected, survey results confirmed
that top executives make extensive personal
use of social network platforms. Among the
managers surveyed, Xing is the clear leader
with 83 per cent followed by LinkedIn, which is
used by 74 per cent. 61 per cent say they use
Facebook and last but least comes Twitter,
which is used by 23 per cent of survey
respondents.
“Which social media platforms does your company use?”
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%
Facebook
Xing
Linkedin
Twitter
None

9. 9© Stanton Chase International
IV. Willingness to move jobs
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
More interesting work
More responsibility
Opportunity to use skills and knowhow
Better working atmosphere
Better salary package
Move to a different sector
International relocation
Factors affecting career move decisions
Flattering job offers
Most people find a job offer flattering – which
probably also explains why 87 per cent of
Austrian executives say they are open for new
career opportunities. 62 per cent of managers
who are interested in making a career move,
however, don’t sit back and wait for an offer to
come along but activate their personal network
of contacts as a way of exploring possible new
openings. 44 per cent of top executives contact
an executive search consultant. Respondents
were realistic in their rating of job applications
with only 24 per cent favouring proactive job
applications as a way of signalling their interest
to an employer of their choice.
The generally high level of willingness among
top executives to move jobs is higher still
among those working in larger companies.
Managers working in matrix organisations tend
to be more open to career moves than
executives in small and medium-sized
companies.
Companies with a good reputation are clearly
also the ones that attract plenty of attention up
and down the country – via advertising and PR.
In answer to the question, “Which company
would you like to work for most?”, the great
majority of managers said OMV or Red Bull.
An interesting job is more
important than a higher salary
So just what are the main factors that motivate a
top executive to move to another company? In
other words – what do Austria’s top executives
look for in a job?
One thing’s for sure: managers do not regard
salary as being as important as the chance to
take up an exciting new job opportunity.
According to survey results, 90 per cent of
executives claim that interesting work is the
main reason for a career move. Somewhat
further down the list of motivating factors comes
“more responsibility” (52 per cent). Only 25 per
cent of respondents regard the opportunity to
earn a higher salary as being a “very important”
factor.
The chance to work for an international
company, however, appears to be a low priority
with few executives considering this to be an
important factor when it comes to making a
career move. Only 6 per cent of respondents
said they regarded international relocation as an
important factor.

10. 10© Stanton Chase International 10© Stanton Chase International
Austria’s managers are
increasingly mobile
Austria’s top executives are also open to
relocating to take up a new career opportunity.
61 per cent would relocate within Austria while
66 per cent would be happy to move to a
neighbouring country and 47 per cent say they
would be happy to relocate further afield. When
asked about preferred locations for a career
move, choices remained the same as in
previous years. By far the strongest preference
would be for a move to the USA (83 per cent)
and 46 per cent say they would consider a
move to Asia (China, India). Latin America and
Eastern Europe are the next most popular
locations.
“Which non-neighbouring country would you move to?”
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%
North America
Asia
Latin America
Eastern Europe
Gulf Region
Africa
Russia/GUS

11. 11© Stanton Chase International 11© Stanton Chase International
V. Stanton Chase International
Stanton Chase International was established
in 1990 and is one of the world’s leading
executive search companies with more than 70
offices in 42 countries.
Stanton Chase International has a strong
reputation in the “emerging markets” sector and
is one of the 5 leading companies in its field in
Austria and in Central and South Eastern
Europe.
Since it was founded, the Stanton Chase
office in Vienna has served as a link between
the markets in Western, Central, Eastern and
South Eastern Europe. Together, the five
partners in the Vienna team have over 50 years
of executive search experience.
Each of our partners has a clearly defined
practice group focus and extensive local and
international experience and expertise. They
serve both international clients and local and
regional players alike.
In 2010, 2011 and 2012, the Stanton Chase
office in Vienna was recognised for its
achievements with the company’s “Office Of
The Year” award .
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