Why travel abroad for work during Christmas, the time everyone wants to spend with their family? We offer you some arguments why this is advantageous.
1. Record inflation
The economic situation around the world is different than it has been for years. All countries are experiencing huge inflation. If it continues to rise – and the prospects for next year are unfortunately not optimistic – the prices of everything will not be able to stop and will reach huge figures. There are already high prices for energy, fuel, food and everything else. Although employees receive the same salary in their paychecks, they earn less in real terms because money loses value through inflation. Below you can see how much inflation has risen in each European Union country.
| Estonia | 24,1% |
| Lithuania | 22,5% |
| Latvia | 22% |
| Hungary | 20,7% |
| Czech Republic | 17,8% |
| Poland | 15,7% |
| Bulgaria | 15,6% |
| Slovakia | 13,6% |
| Romania | 13,4% |
| Germany | 10,9% |
| Finland | 8,4% |
| France | 6,2% |
2. Higher earnings
The solution to this situation is to find a better paying job so that one can make a decent living, meet one’s needs and pay for basic expenses at a minimum. In fact, in many states you can’t even do that. In Bulgaria, for example, the minimum monthly earnings are over €300, while in Germany you can earn over €1500 as a caregiverwith a basic level of language, which is a huge difference. For comparison, the following table shows the minimum and average salaries in each EU country. The second column shows how much the minimum wage is in that country, and the third column shows the average monthly salary.
| Austria | 1000€ | 4540€ |
| Netherlands | 1 725€ | 4324€ |
| Germany | 1 664€ | 4168€ |
| Belgium | 1 691€ | 3775€ |
| Czech Republic | 652€ | 1501€ |
| Poland | 655€ | 1368€ |
| Croatia | 624€ | 1342€ |
| Slovakia | 646€ | 1211€ |
| Lithuania | 730€ | 1202€ |
| Hungary | 542€ | 1059€ |
| Romania | 515€ | 919€ |
| Bulgaria | 332€ | 723€ |
If you decide to go to work as a caregiverover Christmas, you will get job security at this busy time. What’s more, you’ll earn more pay than usual at Christmas thanks to three Christmas and one New Year’s bonus of 100% of your daily wage. At the same time, some families also provide employees with a transportation bonus and full reimbursement of travel expenses, which brings in extra money earned. You will also find specific amounts of extra pay for our job offers. By making your earnings more attractive, you can ensure a nicer Christmas. Even if you don’t spend it with your family right then, you’ll make up for it when you get home.
3. High interest rates
As inflation rises, so do interest rates on mortgages and loans. The US central bank (FED) wants to balance inflation so that it does not continue to rise, but instead falls. And so it sets the interest rate, which it increases obscenely. In the long run it is effective, however, whoever has a low salary (and not only that) looks deep into the wallet. When he pays for expensive groceries, electricity and gas bills at the grocery store , plus a higher mortgage payment, his wallet will feel the pinch. If you add it all up, it adds up to an extra €500 per month. The problem is that companies will not give employees raises. Even if it does, it can hardly cover all the costs of inflation. And even if companies give someone a pay rise, it will require other employees to be made redundant and lose their jobs. However, interest rates on loans have yet to go up. Hungary currently has the highest interest rate in the EU, up from 2% to a staggering 11%. For example, in the Czech Republic it is 7% and for Poles 6%.
4. Economic recession
Throughout the incipient economic recession, t. j. low economic activity there is a decline in consumption. This is the year-on-year decline in quarterly gross domestic product (GDP) in at least two consecutive quarters. This factor can also negatively affect the interest in caregiverservices. Price rises directly affect all countries and therefore German, Austrian and Dutch families equally. Therefore, some families will be forced to take caregivingtheir family members into their own hands due to the financially challenging situation. Also, many people in these countries will lose their jobs and will be forced to find employment in a different sphere to the one they have been working in, reducing the opportunities for workers from other countries to find work here.
5. More and varied job offers
Over the Christmas period you have the opportunity to choose from more job offers compared to January, when there will be many more candidates applying for jobs and the opportunity to get hired will be significantly less. The tendency for job offers to be scarce will continue in the months of February and March next year. This will result in a situation where there will be three caregiver- job applicants – per family, compared to the current situation where there is roughly one caregiverfor every three families. In the first months of next year, there really will not be much to choose from.
6. Employment opportunities for the less qualified
Currently, both foreign business partners and families looking for a caregiverare willing to take on caregiverstaff who do not quite meet all the criteria the family has set. Applicants who have weaker language skillsor who have not yet had experience of working abroad have the opportunity to travel and earn money. Equally, they may wink at a smoker if, in other circumstances, they would prefer a person who is a non-smoker.
7. Enjoyable time
In the patient’s family, you can experience a nice time and the atmosphere of another country’s Christmas, which you will remember for a long time. Caregivers and caregiverare often gifted by the patients they are caring for or his or her family members. You may also be lucky enough to come across a family who will take you on winter holidays or trips over the Christmas holidays, so you can experience a new part of the world.
8. Increasing competition in the labour market
Nowadays you also have more competition when trying to get a job. As a result of the war in Ukraine, there are more workers than usual who can do caregivers work in Germany or the Netherlands and are interested in it. Currently, Ukrainian staff can work throughout the European Union for three months without any permit. The advantage for them is that they have this job just a few miles away compared to other states. The situation in Ukraine continues to deteriorate, with massive bombing. Millions of people remain without electricity and water, and more and more will be forced to leave the country. The interest of these people in finding work in Western Europe will begin to increase. That’s why there is no need to take the risk of waiting for the opportunity to travel that presents itself over Christmas.
9. Increase in job applicants in Western Europe
Next year, an increase in the number of people wanting to travel to Western Europe for work is expected in January, February and March. Compared to previous years , the increase in interest should be at least 100%. These are citizens of Central and Eastern Europe, namely Slovaks, Czechs, Poles, Hungarians, Croats, Romanians, Bulgarians and Lithuanians.
10. Prefer to be prepared in advance
As the saying goes: “Better to be prepared than to be caught off guard.” The financially difficult situation unfolding in the world and fewer job offers available on the job market are affecting everyone. Therefore, there is no need to hesitate until there is more competition, then the chances of going will be rare and getting a job will be very difficult. If you say to yourself, “I won’t travel until after the holidays in the New Year”, there may be nowhere left to go.
All this motivates people to find work abroad, where they can earn considerably more than in their home country.
We have the solution
At ATENE, we offer you a solution to financial difficulties in the form of job placement with attractive and above-standard financial remuneration. We would like to inform you about the current situation, which we know well thanks to our 14 years of experience on the market. We understand caregiverand we understand that it is not easy or simple to travel away from family for work during the most wonderful holidays. But it is important to have a stable job so that you can and will be able to take care of your family, In case you do not have one, it is advisable to take the current offers that are available and go abroad for work even during Christmas.
Let us know in the comments why you think it’s a good idea to travel abroad at Christmas.
