Employers globally may lose 20% of their workforce in the coming year, PwC has found
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One in five workers are likely to change jobs in the next 12 months, a new global survey by consulting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) has found, suggesting that the Great Resignation is showing no signs of slowing down.
PwC released the ‘Global Workforce Hopes and Fears Survey 2022’ at the World Economic Forum in Davos earlier this week. The firm polled more than 52,000 workers in 44 countries in March.
Higher pay is the leading factor driving workers to change jobs. However, other reasons are less pragmatic, with employees seeking job fulfilment, the ability to ‘be themselves’ at work, and a caring team. Work hours and the location of the workplace were named as the least important factors.
“If the ‘Great Resignation’ has taught employers anything, it’s to not take their workers for granted. Yet many companies risk doing exactly that,” the release, published on the firm’s website, says.
The term ‘Great Resignation’, coined by an American university professor last spring, refers to the ongoing global economic trend which sees employees voluntarily quitting their jobs en masse to look for better employment amid the tight labor market, as economies begin to recover after the Covid-19 pandemic.
According to PwC, around 35% of the respondents are planning to ask their employers for a pay raise in the next 12 months. Younger workers are also concerned that technology will replace their roles, according to the survey.
“The findings are very clear … you see a significant number of employees concerned about their future employment and their job security,” Bob Moritz, the global chairman of PwC, said at the forum, as quoted by CNBC. “The power is now, we would argue – in the hands of individuals that are employed.”
In the US, a record 4.5 million workers quit their jobs in March, according to government data, while the number of job openings exceeded 11 million, as employers struggle to fill positions amid soaring inflation. Companies desperate for employees have to raise wages and add incentives to lure workers, leading to more employees quitting their current jobs.
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