(JustPatriots.com)- More than one-quarter of all workers in America plan to look for a new job after the pandemic is over.
The latest Pulse of the American Worker Survey, conducted for Prudential by the Morning Consult last month, found that 26% of all American workers who have a job plan to seek out new employment at a different company once the pandemic subsides.
Among millennials, which make up the largest generation that’s in today’s workforce, 34% said they would consider a job change.
Of those who said they would look for new jobs, 80% responded that they are concerned about their potential career growth in their current job. Almost 75% said the pandemic has made them re-think their own skillset.
The survey found that high-performing workers were the ones most concerned about potential advancement in their current jobs. In addition, the pandemic taught them not to be so tied geographically to only local employers.
This potential huge job shift could cause plenty of headaches for employers. That’s because high-skilled workers are often the toughest to replace, and also have the most potential opportunities elsewhere.
Many experts in employment say a huge shift in jobs like this could expand the gap between women and men in the workforce.
As Rob Falzon, the vice chair of Prudential, said:
“If there’s one thing that keeps me up at night, it’s the talent flight risk.”
Falzon said that now that the economic threat of the pandemic is easing up, most business leaders “need to get back to looking more intently at our talent and ensuring we are giving them opportunities even in a remote environment, or we’re going to lose them.”
Another concern the Prudential survey uncovered was a worry by remote workers. Almost half of them said they would be nervous about the security of their job if they remained remote as some of their colleagues returned to the office.
Falzon said some of this “talent flight” will be due to worker burnout. Workers have been putting in more hours working remotely. They’ve taken less time off, and they’ve had to deal with overall pandemic stress and dealing with things such as child care as well.
To get a better “work-life balance,” some workers may try to find a new job, at a company where they feel more a part of what’s going on. After working remotely for more than a year, almost half of those surveyed by Prudential said they felt disconnected to their employers.
Part of the reason for this is the “face time” they were getting in the office that they’ve been missing out on while working remotely. Falzon said this “culture decay” could end up leading to more employees hopping to new companies, since they don’t feel as much a part of the team.
At the same time, workers are now feeling more optimistic about their career and financial prospects as the pandemic is progressing, according to a global consumer survey conducted by Oliver Wyman.
