Millennial ‘job hopping’ is the new normal according to US research

Following a recent survey claiming that Millennials comprise more than one-in-three US workers, comes new evidence on the impact this could have on recruitment and retention. Over 1,000 US full-time Millennials who were questioned on their careers by RecruitiFi confirmed that ‘job hopping’ had become the norm. During the course of their careers, 53 percent have held three or more jobs. And while many have plans to stay in their current jobs for 3-5 years (33 percent), many respondents plan to leave after 1-2 years (20 percent). 34 percent acknowledged falling levels of employee morale in the office and 22 percent explained that their clients/customers have taken notice. While 83 percent of millennials acknowledge that job hopping on their CV could be negatively perceived by employers, 86 percent say that it would not prevent them from pursuing their professional or personal passions.

“The Millennial generation continues to be at the forefront of every recruiting and hiring discussion,” said Brin McCagg, CEO and Co-founder of RecruitiFi. “By taking a deep dive into the key drivers behind Millennials’ career decisions, the survey findings illustrate that now, more than ever, organizations must evolve to adopt more strategic approaches to HR and talent management.”

When asked for the main reason they would leave their company, Millennials responded saying they would leave to pursue a completely different career path (37 percent), take a job with a competitor (25 percent) and/or relocate to try living in a different city (22 percent). Only 11 percent would leave their current organization to relocate due of a significant other and 5 percent said they would leave to take time off for personal travel.

Although most Millennials feel that their employers are not currently striving to build better programs for their generation (57 percent), respondents do recognize that their employers have improved in the areas of:

• Employer-employee communications around job expectations and the future (33 percent)
• Healthcare/wellness and financial planning options (30 percent)
• Flexibility and work/life balance (28 percent)
• Emphasis on compensation/bonuses (23 percent)
• Building mentorship programs (17 percent)

As the concept of self-fulfillment becomes a larger part of the employee experience, 48 percent of Millennials surveyed have found themselves gravitating towards atypical work, either in a specific industry or in job responsibilities. Millennials would also consider moving out of a white collar industry and into blue collar industry to gain more flexibility and work/life balance (39 percent), because of better compensation opportunities (35 percent), and to pursue more fulfilling work in terms of company values and opportunities (31 percent).

Click here to download the e-book with the full survey results.