Nearly Half of Young Workers Plan to Find New Jobs in 2022
Did you resolve to find a new job in 2022? You’re not the only one. A new survey from Fidelity found that nearly half of young workers want to change jobs next year.
Of the more than 3,000 adults surveyed by Fidelity, 47% of employed respondents ages 18 to 35 said they would be likely to search for a new job next year. Older employees seem eager to move on as well, though in smaller numbers: 39% of workers of all ages in the survey said they'll probably look for new jobs in 2022.
Those seeking a change in employment listed stress, flexibility, their personal values and — of course — money as the reasons they wanted a change. These findings are not surprising. In other recent studies, we've seen how terms like "burnout" and "mental health" are popping up more often on job review sites, and that higher pay and shorter work weeks are the kinds of perks that would stop more workers from quitting.
The Great Resignation isn’t over yet
As the Great Resignation continues apace, workers have more leverage than ever. There were 11 million job openings at the end of October, the Labor Department reported last week, as 4.16 million people left their jobs (down slightly from an all time high of 4.36 million quits in September).
Those record-high quit rates are thanks in part to pandemic burnout and a rethinking of long-accepted work norms. Companies are scrambling to keep up and "have added new benefits, flexibility, and increased wages in order to attract more workers in the competitive labor market," Sara Skirboll, vice president of communications at the job website CareerBuilder, told Money in an email.
"Workers will continue to leave their jobs in search of something better," Skirboll said.
And it's working: Recent data from the Conference Board shows that wage growth for workers under age 25 and for workers who have switched jobs in the last year has been especially strong over the past six to eight months.
That’s because one of the best ways to attract and retain workers in the midst of a labor shortage is to pay them more. The Conference Board found that companies are budgeting an average of 3.9% of their total payroll for wage increases in 2022, which is the highest those budgets have been since 2008.
As a result, American workers are on track for their biggest raises in more than a decade next year.
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How to Stop the 'Great Resignation'? Here's What Workers Say They Want Most
Why Workers Should Expect Their Biggest Pay Raises in Over a Decade