Over half of Brits plan to change jobs in the next year

Latest research has revealed the cost to UK businesses with many professionals planning to change jobs in the next 12 months.

With more than half of professionals (54%) looking to find a new role in the next year, employees are also spending an average of 1 hour 24 minutes a day being unproductive – costing up to £195 million each day to the UK economy in wages.

The findings, compiled by Totaljobs and Universum, found that almost three quarters (75%) of British workers acknowledge they are unproductive at work. When asked how their productivity could be improved, a quarter of people are calling on their employer to embrace flexible working, 1 in 5 (18%) believe a higher holiday allowance would help avoid burnout, and 17% believe remote working would increase their output.

However, 20% of workers cite feeling unchallenged in their current position as the cause for their unproductivity. This doubles to 4 in 10 of those expecting to change roles in the next year, as they look for new challenges elsewhere. Moreover, once an employee hands their notice in and resigns, productivity drops by a further 20%.

Interestingly, two thirds of British workers would stay in a job they enjoyed rather than move for more money. For those intent on shifting jobs, the biggest drivers are career progression (30%), professional training and development (32%) and the feeling that their current roles and responsibilities are unlikely to grow (25%).

According to the research, the employees who are the most satisfied in their current role and the least likely to leave are working in:

• (1^st) Auditing and Accounting
• (2^nd) Passenger Transportation
• (3^rd) Law and Legal services
• (4^th) Technology
• (5^th) Construction and Engineering

Professionals in Logistics (30^th), Media (29^th) and E-commerce (28^th) are the least satisfied in their current position.

Alexandra Sydney, Director at Totaljobs, commented, “Despite economic uncertainty, British workers are confident, and willing to look elsewhere and change jobs in order to get the things they want from an employer.

“For employers focused on retention, it’s clear that money isn’t the key driver in job satisfaction. Instead a healthy work-life balance, feeling valued, and having opportunities to progress is what keeps people in a job. Happy employees are engaged employees, and while a fall in productivity can cost a business financially, fixing the issues needn’t. When attracting new hires, it’s these same elements that businesses should shout about in order to land the best talent.”

To find out more about contracting please contact Jaime on 01442 795 100 or email jaime.thorpe@dolanaccountancy.com.