In the last six months, 43 percent of working Americans have considered looking for a new job, and 63 percent have considered changing their entire career path, industry or heading back to school, according to a survey by BambooHR.
Another survey, this one by Lattice, found that even people who recently were hired into a new position are actively seeking new jobs.
Money is the main reason for considering quitting as some people are no longer willing to put up with unsatisfactory pay and others are tired of working multiple jobs just to make ends meet, according to the BambooHR survey of 2,000 employed American adults conducted Feb. 11-March 3, 2022.
The most important characteristics of a job to Americans are living wages (61 percent) and opportunities for raises (49 percent).
Although the Lattice survey found pay was the main driver for Generation X and baby boomers, it found that younger workers are looking for career growth and guidance. Fifty-nine percent of millennials said opportunities for career advancement was extremely important, and 41 percent of millennials said that mentorships were extremely important.
Generation Z and millennials were twice as likely as Gen X and boomers to want to feel a sense of belonging, according to the Lattice survey.
In addition, many workers are looking at new careers because they feel dissatisfied and uncared-for by their employers, according to the BambooHR survey. Twenty-seven percent of American workers are considering quitting because they are dissatisfied with their work while 38 percent have felt the least valued in the last year than they have ever felt in their entire working career.
The pandemic seems to have soured the employee-employer relationship, according to BambooHR. Thirty-four percent of Americans say their current or most recent employer has cared less about them as an employee in the last two years while 28 percent say that in the last two years, they have cared less about their employer. Twenty-nine percent don't feel like work is worth it anymore.
Eighty-eight percent of employed Americans could see themselves working in an industry other than the one they are employed in, with the top choices being healthcare (14 percent), business/professional services (13 percent), and the arts and entertainment (12 percent).
Ninety-four percent of Gen Z and 94 percent of millennials could see themselves working in an industry other than the one they are currently employed in, compared to 84 percent of Gen X and 72 percent of Boomers.
One in 10 employed Americans currently work multiple jobs. Of those, 31 percent do it because they can't afford to live without a second paycheck and 25 percent do it to pay off debt.
Unemployment is feasible for many employees. Forty-one percent of Americans could be unemployed for more than six months while remaining financially stable, with the average length being eight months, according to the survey.
Willingly unemployed Americans are getting by while unemployed using savings (56 percent), family member income (46 percent) and retirement accounts (38 percent).
As of March 2022, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics estimated that there were 158,458,000 employed adults in America — meaning more than 65 million workers in the country could take at least a six-month break from work without a paycheck. The price tag of hiring one new employee costs more than $4,000, according to Zippia, a job site company.
This data indicates that business owners have the added pressure of ensuring that employees find fulfillment in their jobs and their industry, according to BambooHR. If they don't, employees can quit and take six months or more to figure out what it is they truly want to spend their time doing.
The main actions employers can take to make employees feel valued are giving a bonus or raise (61 percent), recognizing their work one on one (48 percent) and giving adequate support to do their job through tools and personnel (46 percent).
"Amidst The Great Resignation, people have taken a step back to really think about what matters to them and their priorities," said Anita Grantham, head of HR at BambooHR. "Our study found that there is a deep shift happening where workers are closely examining what they want in an employer and making 180-degree career pivots when necessary to find the pay and workplace environments that they truly desire."
Actively Looking
Seventy-four percent of employees would be open to new opportunities in the next six to 12 months, according to the Lattice survey of 2,000 employed Americans. This is an increase from 47 percent who said the same thing in fall 2021.
Even people who recently were hired into a new position are actively seeking new jobs, the survey found. Of those employed three or fewer months in a new job, 52 percent of respondents are actively looking, and of those employed three to six months, 59 percent are actively looking.
Those looking to leave are Generation Z and Millennials. Sixty percent of Generation Z is looking to leave while 59 percent of younger millennials are actively looking. Forty-one percent of older millennials are looking while just 33 percent of Generation X and 23 percent of baby boomers are looking.