Employees Looking to Move Roles on Optimism Toward UK Job Market

Employees Looking to Move Roles on Optimism Toward UK Job Market
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A higher number of UK employees are looking to change jobs in light of optimistic perceptions of business conditions, according to Gartner.

The latest Global Talent Monitor report for 2Q18 shows that 18.8 per cent of UK employees indicated a very low intent to stay in their current role, the second highest after India (40 percent), and higher than the global average of nearly 12 percent. This is the first time since Brexit that workers reported having an optimistic outlook on the job market, and their own career growth.

Nearly 40 per cent of UK employees reported somewhat high to high confidence in the economy. When it comes to their personal prospects, employee perceptions have risen steadily over the last year and have increased nearly 4 per cent. In fact, job opportunity perceptions in the UK are nearly 1.5 points higher than the global average.

“The first year post-Brexit created a lot of uncertainty for employees, but as actions become more formalised, workers feel that the worst may be behind them,“ said Brian Kropp, group vice president of Gartner’s HR practice.

While UK workers may be less inclined to stay in their current jobs, they are putting in more effort at work. Nearly 13 percent of employees reported a high willingness to go above and beyond in their role, and an additional 43.8 per ent leaned toward high.

For those workers who are looking for new roles, nearly half have ranked work-life balance as their highest priority, followed by location (38.4 per ent) and stability (30.5 per ent). This is a change from previous quarters when employees cited vacation, camaraderie and product or service quality as their key priorities.

In order to capitalize on the current willingness of employees to consider new jobs, organizations must ensure they have a strong Employee Value Proposition (EVP) that differentiates them from the competition and speaks to what employees want most, in this case work-life balance, location and stability. Engaging employees on the attributes that they prioritize can generate big dividends. Gartner data shows that organizations with high levels of employee engagement report financial outcomes three times higher than firms with lower engagement levels.