It appears employed Americans are no more or less likely to be looking for a new job in 2009 than they were in 2008, according to a recent survet conducted by Ipsos Public Affairs and published by SHRM.  The assumption is that workers would not want to leave the security of a paycheck for the unknown of a new job.  However 26 percent of employed Americans indicated their intention to put out their resumes in 2009.  Reasons for leaving jobs in the past have been more job quality reasons.  Now most are motivated by the meat and potato issues of money and security.   “Nearly four in 10 workers (37 percent) said the number one reason to look for a different job is money. Meanwhile, 19 percent of these workers think that they are in danger of being laid off, and another 11 percent are hoping the grass is greener with another employer because they are unhappy at their current job.  29 percent of hourly workers said they will be on the job hunt, which is down 2 percentage points from 2008. More money is the top reason 44 percent of hourly workers will be looking for new employment.  22 percent of salaried workers plan to find a new job, up 3 percentage points.  Three in 10 of these salaried workers are most motivated to find a new job because they fear being laid off.  An additional 26 percent need a new job in order to make more money.  Older workers are more likely to be on the job hunt than they were a year earlier.  Of those respondents who are at least 55 years old, 13 percent said they will be looking for a new job, which is up 5 percentage points. The need to make more money is the top factor for 42 percent of this group; an additional 18 percent said they will need a new job because they plan on relocating to a different area.  Fourteen percent of this group felt they are in danger of being laid off.”  Some did express concerns about the economy and labor market as motivators to stay where they are.  “Nearly one in five workers (17 percent) said they consider themselves fortunate to have the job they do; 7 percent said that times are tough and it’s not a good time to be looking for work.”

Employers should not shrink from their workplace harmony strategies.  This is not a time for employers to think less about their work life balance issues and quality of workplace factors.  Employees can still leave employers and will.  The recession has definitely changed employer and employee perspectives about job security but the same motivators for job change exist although the percentages are shifting.  Employers should not neglect their recruitment and retention strategies because the unemployment rate is higher.

  statistics from article by Theresa Minton-Eversole at SHRM.org

This entry was posted on Tuesday, February 3rd, 2009 at 8:51 am. Please comment or trackback.