Survey: Almost half of Romanian managers anticipating economic downturn in 2026

Almost half of Romania's managers (41%) are anticipating a decline in the Romanian economy in 2026 as a result of a difficult economic and political context, while another 27% believe that the economy will remain at the same level, and 32% are expecting slow growth, reveals an opinion barometer conducted among managers in Romania in October.Regarding the performance of companies, 49% of respondents estimate that the activity of the organisation in which they work will stagnate next year, while 42% remain optimistic and believe that 2026 will bring an increase in revenue for their company."For 65% of respondents, next year's priorities are to streamline operations - by optimising costs, improving quality and reducing delivery times. Almost half (51%) plan to diversify their portfolio of products and services, while 36% intend to explore new business segments or expand into other markets. At the same time, 32% consider innovating the business model of the company they lead," shows the survey "How leaders respond to complexity in 2026", conducted by EXEC-EDU.More than half of the participants (53%) believe that energy and utilities will be the industries with the greatest potential for new business initiatives in 2026. In second place is the healthcare and pharmaceutical services sector, mentioned by 35% of respondents, followed by the IT & digital, retail and e-commerce, manufacturing, logistics and financial-banking sectors.When it comes to turning plans for 2026 into concrete actions, 38% of respondents believe that, inside their company, the strategy is largely coherent and well put into practice.On the other hand, 31% say that the strategy is fragmented between departments, which limits the consistency of implementation, and only 15% say that there is a complete alignment between strategy and actions in their organisation.For 64% of managers, the year 2026 brings the need for major strategic changes in the operational model and digitalisation processes. At the same time, 39% believe that the transformation should target the portfolio of products and services, while 30% plan to expand into new markets or other countries. For 26% of respondents, the top priority is to adjust the organisational structure to support adaptation to the new economic realities.In 54% of cases, mid-level managers say they cannot implement the strategies decided due to a lack of resources - either time or personnel. For 34% of respondents, internal procedures and excessive bureaucracy are the main obstacle, and 27% cite unclear communication from top management as the factor that hinders implementation.Also, 21% of middle managers say that they do not have enough autonomy, and 23% report that the large number of KPIs or contradictory objectives limits their efficiency.In a challenging economic context, 47% of managers associate the protection of the core business with the retention of key talents in the company, and 43% define it by keeping up profit margins on their main business segments. Also, 45% consider it essential to retain existing customers, and 29% emphasise operational continuity and supply chain risk management.The survey also shows that 82% of Romanian managers believe that in 2026, in an economic climate full of uncertainties, employee loyalty will depend mainly on the direct manager and leadership quality. At a time when stability is becoming a luxury, the relationship between employee and leader becomes more important than ever. At the same time, 45% believe that meaningful projects and job autonomy matter increasingly more for employees, while 41% emphasise the importance of the benefits package. For 36%, schedule flexibility and the possibility of hybrid work are a key factor, and 30% cite career development opportunities as a key element of retention.For 56% of respondents, the budget set aside for training and development programmes will remain unchanged in 2026, although the year promises to be full of challenges. Managers choose not to reduce these budgets, aware that the development of people remains essential even in complicated economic times. Only 23% of companies intend to reduce them, and 15% even plan to increase investments in employee training.As for the priority directions, 60% of managers say that they will direct their budgets towards digitalisation, data and artificial intelligence courses. 48% will invest in management, leadership and coaching programmes, while 25% plan team building and team development activities. At the same time, 25% intend to allocate funds for sales and customer service training."The findings of the study show very clearly that leaders in Romanian companies are aware of the need for transformation - whether we are talking about digitalisation, streamlining operational models or developing new business lines. However, in order for these intentions to translate into coherent actions, it is essential to invest in strategic thinking skills, AI, leadership, and change management", says EXEC-EDU General Manager Oana Scarlat.The EXEC-EDU survey covered managers from industries such as retail, IT, oil and gas, education, FMCG, banking, agribusiness, courier, transport and consulting. 29% of the participants work for companies with a number of employees between 50 and 250, 21% work in organisations that exceed the threshold of 1,000 employees, 17% come from companies with 250 - 1,000 employees and 17% are part of teams between 10 and 50 people.Regarding the capital structure, 46% of the respondents work in companies running on Romanian capital, 38% in companies on foreign capital, and the rest in companies on mixed capital.In relation to turnover, 54% of respondents come from companies that exceed EUR 10 million annually, 30% operate in organisations with revenues below EUR 5 million, and the rest in companies with turnovers between EUR 5 and EUR 10 million.The survey 'How leaders respond to complexity in 2026' was released on October 30, during an event that brought together over 80 business leaders.With a presence of over 20 years, EXEC-EDU operates on the executive education market, the top segment of the training market. It has a team of over 50 trainers and experts and almost 20,000 trainees. Its portfolio includes about 70 programmes.