I-resign.com announces results of largest international survey about why people quit their jobs

I-resign.com, the UKís website for resignation advice and information, today announced the first set of results from itís 2007 survey about why people leave their jobs.

89,432 international users of I-resign.com participated in the poll from January-August this year and unsurprisingly, most workers (44.4%) tend to stay within their existing industry when moving jobs. In a rapidly changing world however where new corporations, trades and occupations are constantly being created, 28.2% change sectors altogether.

In the UK alone (with 32,000 plus survey respondents), 45.5% told I-resign.com that theyíd continue working in their existing industry but an above-average 29.98% changed sectors entirely. Further, 7.01% quit work to go back to education and learn new skills, 5.36% decided to go travelling and 2.02% left their jobs to have a baby. 5.56% of British workers opted to start their own businesses (2.46% in a different industry sector).

These figures are particularly interesting when compared to those of other countries. Of the 11 nations with more than 500 survey respondents (Australia, Canada, India, Hong Kong, Malaysia, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore, South Africa, UK and USA):

- New Zealanders are the biggest travellers: 12.39% quit work to go abroad

- Conversely, Indians travel least (3.23%) followed by Americans (3.26%)

- Workers in the Philippines are most likely to return to college (20.03%), South Africans are least likely (4.94%)

- Canadians come out on top for leaving work to have a baby (4.02%) followed by Australians (3.76%). Only 1.26% of Malaysians quit for the same reason

- Canadians and Australians are also in the first and second positions for starting new businesses: 9.51% and 9.23% respectively. Indians seem to prefer working for other companies: only 3.81% started their own firms

- Indians also appear to be the most conservative about the sector they work in with 52.28% staying in their existing industry. Singaporeans are the most adventurous with 35.05% changing sector

Kauser Kanji, Managing Director of I-resign.com commented:
ìMost of the time we field enquiries from website users on a one-to-one basis, listening to problems and offering advice and solutions. So to see a snapshot of the wider ìresigning universeî is fascinating. Who could have guessed, for example, that Canadians currently seem to be more entrepreneurial than Americans (9.51% vs. 4.13% quit to start their own business) or that almost an eighth of New Zealand workers resign to go travelling? In the UK, the fact that around 30% of people are moving to a different industry just goes to show how weíre branching out and learning new skills to cope with the pace of change at work.î