According to the global study „People at Work 2023: A Global Workforce View”, only slightly more than 1/3 of employees have not thought about changes in their professional activity in the last 12 months. 27% of respondents thought not only about changing their place of employment, but also about changing the industry. 22% considered the possibility of starting their own business.

Employees, thinking about changes in the professional sphere, often also consider the possibility of taking a break longer than the standard leave. As many as 16 per cent of respondents chose this option. In addition, 7.6% of respondents considered reducing their working hours. This option was more often preferred by employees in the oldest age group analysed +55 years (8.8 per cent). What’s more, as many as 11 percent of employees considered early retirement.

The strategic changes that employees are considering are due to two main factors: a lack of prospects in their current company and a feeling of fatigue. The largest group are those who want to change industries to gain new professional skills. People who decide to start their own business are most often motivated by the desire to achieve greater independence.

The common denominator of designing radical changes in professional work is a general lack of satisfaction and the accompanying growing frustration. All of this leads to a fundamental question that employers should ask themselves: why do we actually work? The obvious goal is to make money that allows us to meet a variety of needs – both basic and more complex. The hierarchy of these needs can change depending on age, circumstances, and even cultural and historical conditions. Employers who want to retain their employees should be aware of these needs and regularly update their knowledge about them.

It is not without reason that the pandemic has been associated with a phenomenon known as the „Great Resignation”, noticeable in many countries. The pandemic period has brought radical changes in the needs of employees, giving them a strong impulse to analyze their lives and redefine their personal hierarchy of values. Employees should be aware of their needs, as this allows them to shape their professional development and consciously manage it. The employer should also be up to date with the needs and opinions of the staff by regularly surveying their moods. Employees often feel fatigue caused by unclear directions of change, lack of affiliation with the company, and lack of development opportunities. This leads to a feeling of being undervalued and a feeling of being „stuck” that can end up with a notice of termination.

Source: pracuj.pl 

Source: https://www.seka.pl/coraz-wiecej-pracownikow-mysli-o-zmianie-pracy/

Supported by Norway through Norway Grants 2014-2021, in the frame of the Programme “Social Dialogue – Decent Work”.