A survey by Indeed, the world’s no.1 job site, has revealed that job-hopping has become a common trend amongst Indian job seekers.
The survey found that 56% of Indian workers have voluntarily left a role after only a short period of time, with 85% of respondents stating that they would add a job to their resume regardless of how long they had stayed in that role.
Whilst the concept of job hopping is not a new one, the Indian workforce is seeing a climb in project-based work and contract work, which is fuelling a willingness to switch roles more readily. The most popular reasons for leaving a role in a short period of time were that: the job did not live up to expectations (30%); it was an unhappy work environment (29%), or they were offered a better role elsewhere (38%).
Of Indeed’s survey, 49% of respondents saw job hopping as an opportunity to learn new skills and over 43% stated job hopping could help boost their resume or identify greater job prospects. However, the trend seems to be slightly higher amongst millennial men than women wherein, 47 per cent of the latter surveyed have never voluntarily left a role after a short period of time, as compared to 43% of the former.
The trend is more visible in mid-sized companies with 200-500 employees, in comparison to smaller organisations. Interestingly, ‘stickiness’ seems to be higher in traditional sectors of manufacturing with 49% of respondents in Manufacturing & Utilities having never voluntarily left a role after a short period of time in comparison to 40% of respondents working in the IT & Telecom sector.
Commenting on the survey findings, Sashi Kumar, Managing Director, Indeed India said, “The millennial workforce is an interesting cohort and the world is always curious about their next move. In recent years, many studies have been commissioned to get a deeper understanding of what they, with the reputation for job-hopping, are looking for in an employer. In the same way that the generation has redefined consumerism, studies indicate that the workplace is another commodity of consumption for the millennials: unless they feel the job is worth their while or are meaningfully engaged, they will look out for the next best opportunity. Employers need to devise ways in which they can retain and continue to attract this talent pool.”
