Dive Brief:
- Most workers are open to changing jobs for higher pay and a more positive culture, according to a report by specialty recruiting firms Accounting Principals and Ajilon. A survey of 1,000 U.S. full-time workers who changed jobs in the past two years found that 88% are willing to pursue a new job opportunity, while about one-third said they were actively seeking a new role, which is an 8% increase from survey results last year.
- Pay was a key motivator for respondents, as 61% said that a 9% pay boost could persuade them to quit their job while 30% said being underpaid would probably cause them to look for another job. But culture is also a consideration: a bad boss could drive out 29% of respondents, and younger candidates in particular were more likely to prefer being underpaid to having a bad boss. Baby boomers and Gen Xers were more likely to say they'd prefer a bad boss over being underpaid, the two Adecco Group brands said.
- "We are experiencing an even tighter U.S. labor market than previous years, empowering job seekers and employees to be more selective when considering new opportunities and specific in their benefits expectations," Accounting Principals and Ajilon President David Alexander said in a statement. "While compensation remains a compelling attribute to retain and attract workers, internal company culture and management styles also play a key role in keeping workers from jumping employers."
Dive Insight:
Across multiple studies, workers have said they're open to new job opportunities. The current candidate-driven labor market could be giving workers more confidence about leaving their jobs, but whatever the cause, it's clear employees are not willing to stay on a job if they could be happier elsewhere. For instance, while half the respondents in a July CareerBuilder survey said they felt they had a career, the other half felt they had "just a job," with nearly one-third saying they planned to make a job change this year.
Under pressure to compete for talent, employers should prioritize making recruiting and hiring processes more efficient, experts previously told HR Dive. Pay is still the main motivator for many job seekers, as the Accounting Principals and Ajilon study showed. A 2019 Mercer report found that the higher the pay, the more likely millennials were to remain on staff. One 2018 survey found most job hoppers weren't actually dissatisfied with the jobs they left behind — rather, most said they were dissatisfied with their pay.
Career development may also be a key factor in talent retention. A survey by The Harris Poll released in June and commissioned by Instructure found 70% of employees would swap their current job for one offering career development opportunities. Learning programs should not only upskill workers but also encourage them to collaborate with colleagues and share knowledge, a lesson that accounting firm PwC found out in its journey to create a learning program. Learning and development can also help shape workers' career ambitions via tools like career journey mapping.
