PHILADELPHIA, Nov. 27, 2012 /PRNewswire/ — For the fourth year in a row most workers are expressing their intention to seek new employment elsewhere, according to a new poll of more than 700 U.S. employees by Right Management, the talent and career management expert within ManpowerGroup.
Eighty-six percent of the employees polled said they plan to actively look for a new position in 2013; another 8% said they may do so and are already networking. Only 5% intend to stay in their current position, according to the survey. The new findings are remarkably similar to those of the past two years.
Do you plan to pursue new job opportunities in 2013?
| 2012 | 2011 | 2010 | 2009 | |
| Yes, I intend to actively seek a new position. | 86% | 84% | 84% | 60% |
| Maybe, so I'm networking. | 8% | 9% | 8% | 21% |
| Not likely, but I've updated my resume. | 1% | 2% | 3% | 6% |
| No, I intend to stay in current position. | 5% | 5% | 5% | 13% |
"At a minimum, the survey findings are a sign of considerable job dissatisfaction throughout North America," said Owen J. Sullivan, Right Management CEO and President of ManpowerGroup Specialty Brands. "The constant drumbeat of downsizing coupled with the expectation to do more with less has put an added amount of stress on workers. Ongoing economic uncertainty and volatility around job growth and job security have warranted the exploration of new positions. This kind of frustration may not be unusual, even in a strong job market. But the levels of discontent we're now finding have to be without precedent."
Sullivan explained that the survey findings should be seen as a way to gauge worker satisfaction as well as job commitment … a barometer of sorts. "Now that we have a few years of consistent longitudinal data, we're confident that our data are reliable. What we're finding is what behavioral psychologists call 'flight cognition,' a wish to depart a situation, not necessarily an indicator of actual employee turnover. Nevertheless, when more than four out of five workers seem so unhappy it ought to concern top management."
Right Management surveyed 760 employees in the U.S. and Canada via an online poll that ran from October 15 to November 15, 2012.
Media contact: Shari Fryer, Email, 970 846 6607.