Building employee loyalty is a prerequisite for a company to achieve a competitive advantage, high organizational performance, and sustainability. The lack of voluntary leaves does not result in recruitment costs or reduced efficiency during the adaptation period of a new employee. It helps retain knowledge and experience within the organization. The article aims to explore employees’ loyalty in terms of voluntary employment continuity during the pandemic slowdown of COVID-19, when employee loyalty was put to an exceptional test, and identify the factors that have had the most significant impact. This empirical study was carried out for Germany, mainly due to the strength and position of the German economy in Europe and the availability of a large, detailed micro dataset necessary for in-depth econometric analyses. The dataset used in the survey is the fifth wave of the German Linked Personnel Panel—LPP in 2020/21 (N = 7397). A multinomial logit model was used as a research tool. Loyalty appears as an explained variable in four ordered logit models that differ in the set of explanatory variables. The explanatory variables include demographics, job title, working conditions, compensation and rewards, job content, training and career development, teamwork, and relationships with colleagues and superiors. The results confirm the influence of extra-organizational factors, such as age and living in a four- or five-person household, on employee loyalty. However, age seems to be a factor of decreasing importance. Too much complexity of work, manifested by great task variety, working in multiple teams, and the requirement to perform work remotely, harmed employee loyalty during the pandemic. Findings justify building loyalty based on sustainable human resource policies to increase income satisfaction, reasonable workload, competence development, and greater autonomy at work. It is also clear that leadership issues (fairness in contact with superiors and recognition for work) mattered during this challenging time and have a high potential to improve employee loyalty in the future.

The article evaluates the influence of a wide range of socio-demographic, job and company-related characteristics on the likelihood of low earnings by applying logistic regression on a broad range of Labour Force Survey data. We evidenced that the average impact of the company-related characteristics is three times stronger than the impact of personal characteristics. We also found that working full-time considerably decreases this risk of low wages, but company-related and personal characteristics (except for the kind of company’s economic activity) have not provided a rent (benefit) from working full-time. The underlying conclusion is that reforms decreasing the size of the low-wage sector in the former transition countries should be focused on targeted employment programmes enhancing transitions to more profitable economic activities instead of possibly maintaining the unprofitable industries at all costs. Additionally, the reforms should be concentrated on introducing employment regulations to harmonise the rules of employment among all contract types, which would put the part-timers and the underemployed on a more equal footing with fulltime workers especially in terms of pension schemes and access to training.

Extending the economic activity of the elderly is now an important development challenge, especially given the shrinking and ageing of the population and increasing risk to the stability of the pension system. Activation of the elderly unemployed and retaining them in employment is a key priority of labour market policy. The article attempts to analyze the causes of older people’s difficulties in the labour market, reviews active labour market programs targeted to the elderly unemployed while pointing out their pros and cons. The paper suggests that in case of the elderly unemployed activation there should be complex and individually based approach. It is also recommended to use non‑standard and innovative measures at the stage of diagnosis, participation in programs and after getting employment.

Generation Z is in a challenging transition between education and the labour market, with the younger part still learning. At the same time, some of its older representatives are already well established in the labour market. Unlike their parents' generation, young people today can take full advantage of the improving labour market situation and an increasingly open economy within the EU and the world. The chapter aims to outline the situation of Generation Z in Poland, focusing on critical areas of education, the labour market, and the sphere of social security. These chronologically ordered transitions are placed against a backdrop of rapid demographic changes and technological trends altering the realities of the economy and the nature of work. The chapter concludes with an analysis of Generation Z's attitude towards work in light of research that does not always form a clear picture. In addition, young people's behaviour related to participation in the various pillars of the pension system and choices towards securing retirement is sketched. Where possible, an attempt is made to present the phenomena against the background of the Czech Republic, Germany, and the European Union. <!----> <!----> <!----> <!---->

W artykule przedstawiono rozwój metod ewaluacji programów zatrudnienia w kontekście badań w Polsce. Wraz z ewolucją roli aktywnej polityki rynku pracy, nakierowanej coraz częściej również na realizację innych celów niż tylko podjęcie zatrudnienia, konieczne stało się zmodyfikowanie dotychczas stosowanego podejścia do ewaluacji. Po pierwsze, znacznie rozszerzono katalog analizowanych efektów programów. Po drugie, do badań ewaluacyjnych polityki rynku pracy wprowadzono podejście dynamiczne. Po trzecie, w tym czasie wzrosła również wiedza na temat czynników, które współdeterminują udział i efekty podjętej interwencji. W badaniach efektów przyczynowych zaczęto uwzględniać znacznie szerszy zestaw zmiennych, opisujących nie tylko konkretny epizod bezrobocia badanej jednostki i jej cechy społeczno‑demograficzne, ale również dokładny przebieg kariery. W Polsce najważniejszym wyzwaniem staje się podjęcie bardziej pogłębionych badań efektów przyczynowych aktywnej polityki rynku pracy.

Prawidłowe adresowanie aktywnych polityk rynku pracy jest ważnym czynnikiem wpływającym na ich skuteczność w rozumieniu oddziaływania na zatrudnienie. Artykuł podejmuje próbę oceny poprawności adresowania aktywnej polityki rynku pracy zarówno w kontekście zapisów ustawowych, jak i aktualnych wyników analiz efektywności netto poszczególnych instrumentów. Analizie poddano podstawowe instrumenty aktywnej polityki rynku pracy, stosowane w Polsce w 2009 roku. Oceny adresowania aktywnych polityk rynku pracy dokonano na podstawie wyników estymacji szeregu modeli logitowych.