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As the new year begins, organizations can expect their employees to be weighing options for a career change. According to the latest WorkSphere survey from Spherion, New Year’s resolutions for 62% of American workers include making a professional change and while this can include things like overall performance improvement, learning a new professional skill, negotiating a higher salary, embarking on a new career, or starting a new business, it seems that finding a new job is at the top of most lists.
The Spherion survey, recently conducted with market research data collection firm Research Now, also found that workers who plan to start a new job or career in 2017 cite higher pay (56%), a desire to try something new (45%), and better work/life balance (44%) as the primary reasons they’re looking wide and deep for new opportunities. Conversely, 72% of the workers who do not plan to find a new job or start a new career in 2017 say they are satisfied with their current work arrangement.
What Women (and Men) Want in 2017?
More women than men who say they plan to start a new job or career in 2017 indicate higher pay (59% and 53%, respectively) as a primary inspiration, while 14% more men than women say the desired change is simply because they want to try something new.
Female workers who are considering changing industries in the new year tend to express interest in jobs in the administrative and marketing or communications industries (34%), while men are most open to jobs in the technology space (25%).
Workers Planning Professional Futures
Sixty percent of workers are not concerned that their job will become obsolete within the next five years.
Overall, 55% of workers prefer to stick with one professional endeavor and are disinterested in pursuing a second job in addition to their primary job. However, a notable number of millennials (29%) would be interested in taking on a side gig.
West Coast is the Best Coast, According to Workers
The top four cities most desired by workers interested in relocating for their job are on the West Coast: Seattle (17%), San Francisco (16%), Los Angeles (16%), and Portland (15%).
New York City (25%), San Francisco (27%), and Los Angeles (25%) are in a virtual three-way tie for most popular destination among millennial workers who want to relocate for professional reasons.
While New York City is desirable among millennials, overall, workers say they would rather relocate internationally (15%) than to New York (14%).
As 2017 begins, it is vital that all employers take notice of employees’ priorities for the new year to better meet their expectations and maximize the potential for retention and job happiness.