What Pushes Workers to Seek New Jobs?
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According to a recent poll, workers seek new jobs due to negative aspects of their current jobs rather than perceptions of available opportunities.
Consulting company Gartner Inc. said in a statement that a survey of over 1,800 candidates carried out in June revealed that the percentage of candidates who said they would repeat an offer decision peaked in 2021 at 83%, after steadily rising in 2019 (60%) and 2020 (70%), before sharply declining this year.
According to the same survey, nearly half of the candidates said they are still open to other offers, while 28% said that if given the choice again, they would choose to remain with their current employer.
Gartner human resources practice director Jamie Kohn said that candidates are not only keeping their options open, but they are also more likely to back out of offers after accepting them.
"Our June survey of over 3,600 candidates found that 44% of respondents backed out after accepting an offer, compared to 36% in 2019," stated Kohn.
Motivation for job changes
According to Gartner's survey, one-quarter of the more than 3,600 candidates said they were looking for a new job because they felt underappreciated in their current one. It went on to say that candidates began looking for new jobs because they believed they could get better pay elsewhere (25%) and were burned out in their current position (25%).
According to Kohn, job changes appear to be driven more by negative experiences with current jobs than by perceived opportunities elsewhere. On the other hand, candidates have high expectations once they start looking elsewhere.
46% of the 1,600 candidates said they backed out after accepting an offer because they got a better offer.
"Competition for talent remains fierce with candidates still coming to the table with multiple offers; one in three candidates have turned down multiple offers during their recent job search," she said.
Priorities
59% of the 3,600 job applicants surveyed by Gartner said they would be willing to give up a position with 10% higher pay for one that offered a better work-life balance.
53% of those polled said they would forego 10% more pay for a more exciting career path or more opportunities to gain new skills. Another factor to consider for candidates is flexibility — 86% of candidates who can now work remotely, whether hybrid or fully remote, prefer to do so more than 50% of the time.
Almost half say they would forego a 10% raise in pay in exchange for greater flexibility in where they work. Although candidates may prioritise specific aspects of work over pay, Kohn believes that companies should be transparent about wages in job postings.
"Nearly 50% of candidates stated they have decided not to apply to a role in the past 12 months because the job description did not include the salary," she said.
Source: Gartner