1 in 5 Workers Expect to Switch Jobs Within the Next Year

The Great Resignation will remain unimpeded in the coming year, with one in every five workers planning to switch jobs in the next 12 months. That was a crucial result from PwC's Global Workforce Hopes and Fears Survey, which included 52,195 people from 44 countries and regions, one of the largest global workforce studies ever conducted. 

 

Pay pressure to go upwards

According to the survey, 35% want to ask their employers for more pay in the next 12 months. Pay pressure is most significant in the technology industry, where 44% of workers surveyed intend to request a raise, and lowest in the public sector (25%).

While an increase in compensation is the most important reason for changing jobs (71%), having a meaningful career (69%) and being able to genuinely be themselves at work (66%) round out the top three. Almost half (47%) prioritised the ability to select where they work.

Workers who plan to hunt for a new job within the next year are less likely to be content with their current workplace. In comparison to individuals who have no plans to change jobs, they are:

• 14% less likely to find their job fulfilling

• 11% less likely to feel they can be their true self at work

• 9% less likely to feel fairly rewarded financially

 

Skilled workers feel the most empowered, exacerbating workplace inequalities

The poll offers a picture of a workforce divided along several dimensions.

Women were 7% less likely than men to believe they are fairly compensated monetarily, but 7% less likely to request a raise. Women were also 8 points less likely than men to request a promotion, and that request was more likely to fall on deaf ears as women were 8% less likely than men to believe their manager listened to them.

There were also substantial generational differences. Gen Z workers were less content with their jobs and two times more likely than Baby Boomers to be worried that technology may replace their role over the next three years.

Talents are one of the major causes of polarisation, with significant inequalities between those with highly valued skills and those that don't. According to the data, those with in-demand skills (29% believe they have skills in short supply in their country) are more likely to be satisfied with their job (70% v 52%), feel heard by their managers (63% v 38%), and have money left over after paying their bills (56% v 44%).

Workers said employers invest in the workforce via upskilling and wage increases to close the skills gap. On the other hand, workers are less likely to report a focus on automation, outsourcing, and recruiting.

 

Other critical findings from the poll

• 45% of respondents said they could not do their job remotely

• Of those who say they can do their job remotely:

  •  63% say they prefer some mix of in-person and remote working. The same proportion said they anticipate their employer to offer that arrangement for at least the next 12 months.

  • 26% of workers prefer full-time remote work, but only 18% think their employers would adopt that model.

  • Another 18% say that their employers will likely require full-time in-person work, which only 11% of employees prefer.           

In March this year, PwC polled 52,195 individuals who are active in the labour market. It designed the sample to reflect a range of sectors, working patterns and demographic characteristics. 

The survey covered 44 countries and regions, and PwC scaled sample sizes to reflect each territory or region's share of global GDP. They range from 5,000 to 250, with an average sample size per region of around 1,200.

 

You can read the report here.

 

Source: PwC