The “Great Resignation” looks to continue as a quarter of workers expect to change jobs in the next 12 months, up from 19 percent last year, according to a new global survey by PwC.
The Great Resignation is a term coined in 2021 to describe the record number of people changing jobs or leaving the workforce during the pandemic.
Globally, employees are increasingly feeling cash-strapped amid a cooling economy and inflationary challenges, according to the survey. Survey respondents who are most likely to change employers include those who feel overworked, struggle to pay bills every month, and the cohort of Gen Z.
Around 42 percent of respondents said they are planning to demand pay raises to cope with the higher cost of living, up from 35 percent last year.
Some 38 percent said they had money left over at the end of the month, down from 47 percent last year. Around one in five workers is working multiple jobs, with 69 percent of those saying they were doing so for additional income.
Although more money is the biggest motivator for a job change, finding fulfillment at work is also important, according to PwC.
“Purpose, company culture, and inclusion also remain key to employee concerns,” the survey found.
Some 46 percent of respondents said they were struggling financially. They are also less able to meet the challenges of the future, including investing in developing new skills, and adapting to the rise of artificial intelligence (AI), the survey said.
Among the workers surveyed who were doing better financially, more than one-third said AI will improve their productivity, while a quarter expected AI to create new job opportunities.
Younger workers, including Gen Z and millennials (i.e., people born after 1981) expect to see a positive impact from AI on their careers over the next five years, the survey found.
Separately, 50.6 million workers in the United States quit their jobs in 2022, up from 47.8 million in 2021, according to the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS).
A study by the Pew Research Center found that most workers who quit their jobs in 2021 cited low pay, no advancement opportunities, and feeling disrespected as the main reasons for their resignations.
Meanwhile, labor economists said the vast majority of people who quit their jobs do so to take other opportunities, not leaving the workforce altogether.
“Workers are clearly confident about their prospects as they continue to quit their old jobs at high rates,” Nick Bunker, economic research director for North America at the Indeed Hiring Lab, told CNBC.
Employers hired a record 76.4 million people and laid off 16.8 million in 2022, according to JOLTS data.
“The labor market moderated through the year, but employers and workers remained confident and optimistic,” Bunker told the outlet, adding, “The labor market has been and looks to be a solid foundation for U.S. economic growth.”
According to The Motely Fool, millennials with more than five years of work experience make up 55 percent of career-changers since March 2020, while they comprise just 35 percent of the labor force.
Workers who left their positions were also likely to have substantial job experience, with “77 percent of those who changed careers had five years or more years of work experience,” the article stated.
