Ryan FowlerAccording to a survey by Randstad UK, more than a quarter of the UK workforce will change employers over the next six months. The survey, conducted in January 2024 with 12,000 participants aged 18 to retirement age, revealed that 27% of workers plan to switch jobs, up from 24% last year.
In the past six months leading up to January 2024, 19% of employees changed employers, compared to 16% in the same period last year. Men are more likely to have changed jobs (23%) than women (16%).
The main reasons for leaving previous employers were improving work-life balance (41%), receiving an irresistible offer (30%), lack of career opportunities (24%), lack of interest in the current job (22%), and lack of flexible work options (20%).
Victoria Short, chief executive of Randstad UK, said: “The workforce is as mobile now as it was before the pandemic. With over a quarter of employees planning to switch jobs in the next six months, businesses must double down on their efforts to create engaging, supportive, and flexible places to work.
“That means hybrid and remote working options, competitive pay, and demonstrable opportunities for career advancement — those will all be critical to employers who don’t want to haemorrhage their talent in 2024.
“We have seen flashes of workforce mobility like this before — specifically in the Great Resignation in the spring of 2021 — but this is set to be a long-term, sustained trend. As such, this represents a significant shift in the employment landscape. Employers will need to adapt quickly if they are to remain attractive in such a dynamic job market.”
When choosing a new job, workers prioritise work-life balance (60%), attractive salary and benefits (58%), and job security (53%). Good training (52%) and workplace equity (50%) are also crucial factors.
Short noted: “Given the workforce’s massive appetite for training, reskilling, and upskilling, this looks like a good place to start for employers looking to navigate this period of higher staff turnover.”
The survey highlighted that 57% of workers feel they lack opportunities to develop in their current roles. Additionally, 53% of workers who identify as minorities reported facing obstacles to career progression due to their identity, compared to 34% of non-minority workers.
Short said: “These results are a stark reminder of the systemic barriers that still exist in some of the UK’s workplaces. It’s completely unacceptable that over half of workers who identify as being from a minority feel their identity has hindered their career progression.
“We weren’t even asking about historic issues — from which we might have all moved on more recently — we asked about their current employers, where they are working right now. Employers must commit to creating truly inclusive environments where every employee has equal opportunity to succeed.
“This means not only addressing biases but actively fostering diversity at all levels of the organisation. From a purely pragmatic point of view, half of candidates also tell us that a fair and equitable workplace is important to them when they’re changing jobs — even the most hard-headed employers, not convinced by idealistic arguments, might like to consider their stances in light of those findings.”
The research also found that 59% of workers believe being physically present in the workplace increases their chances of promotion. This belief is stronger among Gen Z (69%) compared to Boomers (50%).
Short stated: “Employers know offering flexible work makes them more attractive to potential employees. And there are many benefits to employees who can go hybrid.
“But employees embracing home working may want to consider their lack of visibility in the organisation and the potential harm to their career progression that it could cause. While many people are embracing it, the findings from our report suggest that working from home is not without its risks.
“Six in ten of the workers we interviewed believe that physical presence in the office has an impact on their chances of getting a promotion. Women working remotely, in particular, should consider how presenteeism and their comparative lack of time in the office, could be stifling their opportunities.”
The study found that a quarter of the workforce uses AI regularly, with 10% using it daily. Over half of workers believe AI will impact their roles in the next five years, though only 4% expect to lose their jobs to AI.
Short said: “The UK is waking up to the AI revolution. More than a fifth of employees — 22% — have received, or are receiving regular AI training. While a slice of the workforce appears to have gained comfort that they’ve nothing to fear from AI, it’s worrying that 61% haven’t had a discussion about AI with their employer. Either it’s too far off to look at yet, or people are burying their heads in the sand.”
