- New survey shows that 8 in 10 workers are hoping for a career change in the next five years
- The average employee thinks about getting a new job eight times per month
- Four in ten people are willing to take a pay cut for a more desirable occupation
- Nearly half (48%) say they would move to another country to land their dream job
LONDON — Forging one’s path in life is a long and winding road, filled with important decisions. One of the biggest decisions we all face in this existence is choosing the right career and job. Unfortunately, a recent survey of 2,000 British workers finds that half are afraid they are slaving away in the wrong profession.
The research, commissioned by PeopleCert, also found that many current employees (40%) would even take a pay cut just to work in a job that’s right for them. Another 60% said they would work longer hours in a job they enjoy. Additionally, about 25% would like to change careers, with 80% hoping for a career change in the next five years.
In all, 52% said they would consider moving to a new city to find their dream job, and 48% would even move to another country.
With these statistics, it’s no surprise that 60% of the survey’s participants said they are constantly bored or dissatisfied with their current position.
“Having a satisfying job is incredibly important to our overall levels of happiness and self-esteem,” says Byron Nicolaides, founder and CEO of PeopleCert. “And having content employees has positive implications for employers too – because happy staff are the catalyst for a successful company.”
On average, respondents said they think about switching careers about eight times a month, or 96 times a year.
Aimlessness is clearly a troubling trend in the modern workforce; half of the respondents said they are lacking direction in their careers, and 39% consider their current position merely a way to “pay the bills.”
However, some seemed to be open to sticking with their current job if there was a better chance for advancement. Over 10% said they wanted the chance to grow in their current position, but most thought they’d need additional training. Moreover, one-third said they think they are under-skilled in their position compared to their colleagues, and believe they would be overlooked for promotions and other opportunities within their current company. On that note, 67% of respondents said they believed that re-training may “reignite” their career.
It seems many employees have already switched careers, more than once. The typical British working adult has changed their career three times on average, and the longest most workers stay at the same job is usually seven years.
The study was conducted by OnePoll.