A new survey of UK workers reveals that 48% plan to change their job in the next two years.
However, while keen to change jobs, employees are not overly confident about their ability to find a new position with 40% expecting it to get harder to find a job over the next year. In the longer term 51% expect it to get more difficult over the next five years, while only 15% of workers expect job-hunting to get easier over that period.
The research, produced by the Recruitment Confidence Index (RCI), also revealed that manageable hours and an improved work/life balance is growing in importance.
More than half of all staff (57%) say pay is very important to them; 48% say enjoying the job is very important, and 41% say working hours are crucial.
When it comes to moving on, 59% said they would apply for a new job if the salary was good enough, but 50% said it was important that a new employer offered them good opportunities to balance work with home.
The survey results will be a surprise to many bosses. Research carried out by the RCI three months ago found that employers regarded pay, career progression and organisational culture as the three most important factors when it comes to hanging on to talent. Only 26% on employers said flexible working was important and 24% said it had no impact at all.
Commenting on the results Dr Emma Parry, who runs the survey at Cranfield School of Management, said: The results show that todayís workers donít just want to be well paid for what they do, they also want job satisfaction and the ability to balance work and home. Employers need to bear this in mind and think more creatively about the packages they offer new recruits if they are going to fill vacancies in what is already a tight labour market. Itís not enough to offer pay and promotion - staff want a personal life too.
The Recruitment Confidence Index is quarterly tracking research produced by Cranfield School of Management and the Daily Telegraph in association with Personnel Today. This is the RCIís first Employee Confidence Survey and includes the views of 5,000 employees across the UK.
The survey reveals a lot of dissatisfaction among workers. More than one in three - 35% - are either neutral about or dissatisfied with their current job. This could explain why many respondents appear to be active job seekers. Nearly one in three respondents (31%) say they expect to change jobs within the next year. A further 17% expect to change jobs within the next two years.
Michelle Turner, Regional Classified Sales Manager at the Daily Telegraph said: There are more opportunities out there but people are still cautious about changing jobs. While pay and promotion are important to job hunters, they are less willing to take a risk for fear of ending up in the wrong job. This could become a serious problem for employers in some sectors and regions who are already facing critical skill shortages.
The survey was sponsored by Barkers, the largest UK-owned advertising, communications and recruitment solutions provider. Planning director Andrew Platt-Higgins said: Itís interesting that although we have functional full-employment, this hasnít translated into a bull market for talent. There is still lots of insecurity and ambivalence among candidates.
And he maintained that employers should be concerned about managersí seeming lack of commitment. The fact that more than one in three people are dissatisfied or neutral about their jobs has to have an impact on commercial performance and service delivery in the private and public sectors, Mr Platt-Higgins says.
A new survey of UK workers reveals that 48% plan to change their job in the next two years
However, while keen to change jobs, employees are not overly confident about their ability to find a new position with 40% expecting it to get harder to find a job over the next year
