Russians fear layoffs amid worker shortage. Why?

According to a survey by Kp.ru, 67% of working Russians fear being laid off. Almost half of them (45%) do not believe they could quickly find a new job if they lost their current one. Only one in five respondents (22%) is calm about a possible dismissal. The rest live in a state of constant internal tension: even loyal employees, even those who have been «in good standing» for years, even those who outwardly demonstrate confidence and engagement.

These figures seem paradoxical. Superjob founder and president Alexei Zakharov, in a conversation with MSK1.RU, stated that surveys conducted by his portal paint the exact opposite picture: «The vast majority of people now are not at all afraid of being laid off. Yes, dismissal is stressful, but people are confident they will find a job very quickly.»

«The old will leave, and the young will not come»

Zakharov explains this by the general situation in the labor market, where the main trend is the physical reduction of the working-age population. As a result, the expert says, employers continue to lower qualification requirements and are forced to pay more and more.

«If such a study had been done 15 years ago, I would have said: yes, the fear was understandable then. Now it»s strange to be afraid of dismissal. People are behaving more boldly with employers and understand: if the company doesn«t take care of me, I»ll find a new job tomorrow. Requirements are decreasing, employers are showing more flexibility, offering flexible schedules, trying to retain the older generation because they understand: the old will leave, and the young will not come. They simply aren«t there,» Zakharov paints a rather gloomy picture.

«Labor market frenzy is subsiding»

Other experts interviewed by MSK1.RU are more optimistic. For instance, HR expert and career consultant Kristina Lebedeva observes that the Russian labor market is experiencing not a decline... but a transformation.

«The Russian labor market is threatened not by a crisis in the traditional sense, but by a painful yet necessary transformation. The era when an employee»s value was determined by their mere presence on the payroll is ending. The time of meaningful productivity is coming. The emphasis is shifting from the slogan «retain the worker at any cost» to the strategy «work more efficiently and meaningfully»,« says Lebedeva.

According to her observations, since the beginning of 2025, hiring and salary increase plans have become more moderate, and the dynamics of vacancies and resumes on HR websites indicate a decrease in frenzy.

«Business, faced with expensive and scarce hiring, is now solving the problem differently — through investments in technology and restructuring internal processes,» the consultant explains.

She shares advice for employees who want to keep their jobs: suggest ideas for improving processes within your area of responsibility, master adjacent skills (for example, basic data analysis, report automation), and openly discuss your efficiency with your manager.

«So much talk about burnout»

And what do employers from various sectors think? MSK1.RU also interviewed them. Thus, social policy advisor to the chairman of the board of AO National Savings Bank Anastasia Kudryavtseva reflects: «The economy is changing faster than people can adapt: automation, AI, new skill requirements create a background of chronic stress. Therefore, people more often talk about anxiety, fatigue, and uncertainty than about actual mass layoffs. When a person doesn»t understand what will happen to their profession in a year or two, they start behaving more cautiously: they postpone changing jobs, are afraid to ask for a raise, and perceive any changes within the company worse.«

A member of the board of directors of the Siberian Business Union and the company Azot, Anastasia Gorelkina, also believes that the labor market situation has now stabilized. And this allows people to think not about survival, but about quality of life.

«Today there is so much talk about burnout, balance, and comfort not because the market is collapsing, but because it is stable enough that people can afford to think broader,» the top manager shares her observations.

In general, the assessment of the labor market depends on the expert«s »optics«: some talk about stability, others about stagnation. Whatever you call it, the situation is clear: no growth is observed.