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What’s changing in how poeple work, grow, and decide in Fintech
Every year, fintech gets talked about from the outside in. Funding rounds, market trends, and AI
disruption. But rarely does anyone stop and ask the people actually working in it how they feel.
That gap is what pushed us to do this, and we created this report because something wasn’t
adding up. We spoke with more than 420 fintech professionals across roles, seniority levels,
and geographies, and asked them one straightforward question: What is really going on in your
career right now?
When we looked at the data, the story was harder to ignore than we expected. The number one
reason people leave their jobs isn’t pay. It’s a lack of career progression, cited by 62.9% of
respondents. Culture and leadership follow closely behind. Yet when those same people are
asked why they’d join a new role, salary jumps straight to the top at 68.1%. People leave for
reasons organisations often ignore, and join for reasons organisations think they’ve already
solved. That gap is where most talent strategies fall short. Salary may attract people, but what
keeps them is much more human: leadership, growth, and the overall experience of work.
Beyond career motivation, a few other things stood out. Nearly 3 in 10 professionals experience
frequent burnout, and the data shows clearly that hybrid working helps, full office doesn’t. On
learning and development, 63% say it matters to them, yet 77% are unsatisfied with what their
organisation actually provides. And when it comes to AI, the mood isn’t panic, it’s quiet
pressure. Most professionals accept that AI is reshaping their work, but those in organisations
with no visible AI direction are starting to see that as a red flag.
There is also a structural reality that sits underneath all of this. Across 20 European fintech
companies and more than 8,000 hires, only 1 in 4 new hires was a woman. The functions where
women are most represented are also the smallest. The leadership pipeline is being shaped
right now, and the current trajectory points in one direction.
The picture that emerges is of a workforce that is thoughtful, self-aware, and increasingly
selective. They are not just looking for better pay. They want to know where they are headed,
whether the organisation they work for is going somewhere, and whether they will grow along
the way. For employers, that is both the challenge and the opportunity.
