Porto is a top choice for professionals opting for remote work

In a debate alongside the Head of Human Resources at NORS, Ana Peneda, the Director of Human Capital at the Petrotec group, Filipe Ferreira, the Director of Tridonic's Global Software Competence Centre, João Granjo, and the Director of Hays Portugal, Carlos Maia, the City Councillor for the Economy, Employment, and Entrepreneurship, Ricardo Valente, stressed the importance of "countries and cities being partners with business organizations".

"People like it here. The city has an intangible side that makes people like being here," believes Ricardo Valente.

Ricardo Valente also adds that "the real capital of companies is know-how, patents, research, and development". The Councillor said that "the real power is now in the people". That's why he stresses, "if territories can’t create the conditions for people to be there, people will continue to emigrate".

"We have to stop feeling sorry for ourselves and start having a competitive logic and create the conditions so that, in Portugal, there is a future from the point of view of talent, so that companies create wealth here and so that the country once again becomes a nation where people can make their purpose happen," urges Ricardo Valente.

On the subject of talent retention, the Councillor for the Economy, Employment, and Entrepreneurship does not doubt that this "is the country's fundamental problem" and, faced with "levels of emigration compatible with countries at war", he asks: "where could we be if these talents were here if we created the opportunities for them to be here?".

Considering what he sees as "tremendous losses of capital", the councillor also mentions the fact that companies have to "provide a service that is not provided by the state", namely in terms of transportation and access to health care. "The state has to create the conditions for companies to establish themselves and create wealth," he said.

Among the various questions posed by the Hays survey to over 3,400 professionals and eight hundred employers was the question regarding mental health, with around 56% of people assuming that they had been negatively affected by their work or career.

In this field, Ricardo Valente considers "the great challenge of this century", the Councillor shares that "today we lack a sense of true community". "The world has changed, it has become socially unstructured and people have become connected to 'anti-social' networks, which feed their inability to build communities," he said, urging for "cities to become human again" and for "us not to destroy our ability to be human".

In Hays' view, the green economy will become even more important for employers this year. For the Councillor, "the logic of the green transition is no longer a wish but an obligation" and "it can't be done by leaving people behind" in the name of efficiency. "It's better to be more effective from the point of view of what unites us, which is people," he stressed.

Ricardo Valente took the opportunity to mention how the Municipality of Porto "is very committed to this issue", namely "in terms of the energy transition". The Councillor recalled that the municipality "has energy supply contracts that require it to be 100% renewable", as well as "a fully electric or hybrid fleet". "

We want to lead by example because we believe that, in the end, we will be more attractive" said the Councillor.

In the closing remarks, Ricardo Valente left a message calling for participation in shaping lives. "People don't participate, they're completely absent, and this leads to a lot of frustration because they place their destiny, their future, in the hands of others," he concluded.

Know more about the study here.