Recession Fears Slow Job Searching Activity In The US
Austin, TX, October 17th, 2022: Amid concerns of an impending recession, employees are sitting tight in roles they would otherwise consider leaving. Findings from Beamery’s latest “Talent Index” reveal that 40% of employees are putting job hunting on hold until the economy shows signs of stabilizing. Of the more than 2,500 U.S. employees surveyed, nearly a quarter (23%) reported they would choose not to look for new opportunities altogether if there were to be a recession.
Alongside recession fears, inflation is also having a direct impact on job movement. The top reason given, among those considering leaving their job in the next 12 months, was better pay at other places (33%), followed by no salary increases at their current organization (27%). However, nearly 20% of respondents were not confident they would find a new job in the current market, reporting they felt it would take six months or longer to secure a new role. When comparing confidence levels in abilities to find a new role, across previous Talent Index reports from the last 12 months, the highest rate of confidence hit 79%, yet today these levels are reported to be at their lowest level yet – 67%.
Employees are also feeling frustrated by poor management (27%), lack of development opportunities (24%), and a toxic work culture (23%). One trend contributing to a negative work culture is “quiet quitting” with many employees starting to feel the ripple effects. Two thirds (66%) said that their work has been negatively affected by it. Almost one third (28%) indicated that their team, or company, morale has dramatically decreased due to quiet quitting. Another 21% reported that it made them more likely to want to leave the organization.
While employees decide whether to stay or leave, career progression opportunities remain top of mind, with over one third (38%) of employees listing upskilling and development as sought after workplace benefits. However, 24% cited ‘lack of progression opportunities’ in their current workplace among the top three most frustrating aspects of their job. For employers that do offer career development opportunities, 20% of employees still say they’ve missed out on taking advantage of this as they’re too busy with their current workload to upskill, whilst 19% say their employer doesn’t know their current skills so ‘wouldn’t know where to start’.
“It’s never been more important for business leaders to focus on improving retention strategies,” said Abakar Saidov, Co-Founder and CEO of Beamery. “We can clearly see from the data that employees are really focused on compensation, culture and opportunities to learn and grow. As businesses begin to plan for the new year, addressing total compensation and rewards, investment in training managers and leaders, and having a real focus on upskilling and career development, should be a top priority.”
Research methodology
An online survey was conducted by Atomik Research among 2,503 respondents from the USA, all of whom were office workers and at some point left their offices during the pandemic. The research fieldwork took place on 7th September – 14th September 2022. Atomik Research is an independent creative market research agency that employs MRS-certified researchers and abides to MRS code.