Although the German economy has been weak for some time, the job market continues to look good. The number of employees is at a record level, many employers are looking for staff. The favorable conditions are causing many employees to seek a change of their own accord, as a survey by the opinion research institute YouGov on behalf of the job platform LinkedIn shows.
Accordingly, four out of ten employees surveyed (41 percent) are currently thinking about a new job. 14 percent of them are already actively looking, another 27 percent plan to look for a new job in the next twelve months or can at least imagine doing so. Only every second respondent (48 percent) does not consider changing jobs in the course of the coming year. The rest is undecided. 1,052 employees from various sectors and professions were surveyed.
The high level of willingness to change jobs is remarkable in that there were many quite loyal employees among those surveyed. 60 percent of them have been with their current employer for more than five years, 37 percent of them for more than ten years. And: According to their own statements, two out of three respondents feel a strong sense of belonging to their current employer and find that it actually fits in well. The high sense of belonging among employees has thus hardly changed since the pre-Corona period in 2018, writes LinkedIn. At that time, a survey showed very similar values.
So why are so many still toying with the idea of changing jobs? One reason could be a heavy workload. 42 percent feel more stressed than before due to the tight staffing levels in the company in the past twelve months. 37 percent say that the working atmosphere has significantly deteriorated due to the difficult personnel situation. In addition, many respondents feel that their employer is not doing enough to retain employees and attract new talent.
In times of general inflation, more money would help. When asked what the employer can do to keep the employee in the company, half of those surveyed named a salary increase (48 percent). The second most frequently mentioned answer, “bonus payments” (30 percent), also goes in the same direction. This is followed by the desire for “flexible working hours” (28 percent) and a 4-day week or a comparable model (23 percent). A company pension scheme (19 percent), opportunities for personal professional development and home office opportunities (16 percent) are also very popular.
“Actually, most employees feel that they are in good hands with their employers. And yet many are currently looking for a new job,” says Barbara Wittmann, head of LinkedIn Germany, summarizing the results of the survey. This certainly has something to do with the fact that the shortage of skilled workers favors the starting position of workers in many sectors. “Managers must not underestimate this dynamic, especially among younger employees,” says Wittmann. “Therefore, they should find out where there is dissatisfaction with the work environment or the corporate culture and find solutions to counteract this and keep employees who actually don’t want to leave.” The opportunity to work on a special project or an internal change of job can often be an easy solution to motivate and retain employees.
