Income distribution can cause large-scale transformations in human resources structure, essential changes of economic outputs via its impact on life satisfaction and motivation of work. Thus, the overall objective of this research is to improve methodological tools of income distribution analysis based on identifying the links between different structural indicators of income inequality and the most essential features of social and economic well-being. We conducted comparative analysis of EU Member States and Ukraine. We used structural analysis based on two forms of income distribution—functional (share of “labour” in Gross domestic product - GDP) and household one (ratio of incomes measured by special decile coefficients) to identify income inequality and inconsistencies in distributive strategies. By grouping European countries according to economic well-being (described as GDP per capita) and inequality in income distribution (based on Gini coefficient), we determined apparent tendencies in distributive policies and revealed links between income distribution and connected social-economic features of well-being. We conclude that countries with the most stable and clear patterns in income distribution have distinct connections between the share of labour costs in GDP and successes in social and economic spheres, including human development level, property rights protection, GDP growth, possibilities for taxation and budgeting of social programmes.

The ability to attract and retain the talents is an important factor in the competitiveness of countries, as it is confirmed in our study. At the level of small and medium-sized enterprises, hiring and retaining skilled workers is one of the most difficult tasks of HR management, especially in transition economies with a high intensity of “leaching out” the skilled workers due to labour migration. Our research in Ukraine, which is a prime example of such countries, conducted via the cluster analysis allows us to conclude that the problems of hiring and retaining skilled workers have some connection with profitability: there is almost always a problem with filling vacancies with people of all educational levels in unprofitable enterprises, which is not typical of profitable businesses. The main problems with filling vacancies according to employers’ estimations are: 1) market factors – shortage of employees with the required skills; 2) internal problems of ensuring the attractiveness of jobs (material – pay, and intangible – career prospects, flexible working hours, legal employment); 3) internal factors of inefficient HR management, including recruiting; 4) psycho-physiological factors of job satisfaction. However, there are no close links between the factors of hiring effectiveness and retention of skilled workers with the economic success of the organization in the form of the growth of assets, revenues and stuff. This leads to the conclusion that the practices of human resources management in small and medium-sized businesses in Ukraine are largely built chaotic, without analyzing the impact on the efficiency of the use of other resources and without providing links with the overall economic efficiency of enterprises.

Among the efforts to create a company brand, the development of a successful employer brand is today not only a sign of a socially responsible business, but also a tool to achieve competitive advantages in the labour market, expand employment opportunities, and retain the best employees. The key values that influence the intention to join a company vary among different groups of employees, which must be taken into account when creating a successful employer value proposition (EVP). The purpose of this study is to assess the differences between the key values of employed and potential workers whose work is most on demand in the labour market (generations Y and Z, with higher education and those who obtain higher education). The research was conducted on the basis of a sociological survey of a representative sample of respondents (510 respondents). The main differences in the perception of the employer’s brand are identified by gender (higher value of safety in the workplace for women, and opportunities for personal development for men), as well as in the groups selected by the availability of experience: pay is valued highest by respondents with work experience; for those who have no work experience, the employer’s brand reputation is a more important factor. There are also significant differences in assessments of the importance of workplace safety, professional development, comfortable environment, and work-life balance.

The scientific periodical journal (indexed on Web of Science) published by the Tomas Bata University in Zlin offers results of basic and applied economic research in the English language.