ALEXANDRIA, Va.–More than half of employees surveyed in North America plan to look for a new job in 2021, according to a new report, while separate research shows that a quarter of workers plan to quit their jobs outright once the COVID-19 pandemic subsides and recruiting efforts ramp up.
The report was released by the Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM), which noted employers were already experiencing high rates of turnover prior to the economic shutdown triggered by the pandemic last spring, but since then, quit rates reached their lowest level in nine years.
SHRM noted retention and turnover experts now predict voluntary job-leaving will increase significantly in 2021 as employees resume job searches they put off for the past year.
According to SHRM, respondents gave a variety of reasons for wanting to move on to new opportunities, including disengagement and burnout, as well as the typical career-oriented contributing factors like wanting a promotion or raise.
Reasons Cited
Meanwhile, better compensation and benefits (35%) and better work/life balance (25%) are the top two reasons why employees would leave their current job, according to research commissioned by the Achievers Workforce Institute, the research arm of Achievers, an employee recognition software company in Toronto. The institute surveyed 2,000 employed adults in February, finding that 52% are looking for a new job, up from 35% a year earlier.
The study also found 46% of respondents feel less connected to their company, and 42% say company culture has diminished since the start of the pandemic. Just 21% said they are very engaged at work.
Lack of ‘Balance’
One expert noted that while remote work may lead to more flexibility, that flexibility may not translate to better work/life balance—as employees may be working more.
"More than half of employees who are currently working from home worry their manager doubts their productivity," the analyst stated. "To compensate, more than two in five employees are starting their workdays earlier or working later, and more than a third are skipping lunch breaks in an effort to show productivity to managers."