There’s an interesting and informative read from the WSJ this week about the fact that February marked the first time since October 2008 that the number of employees voluntarily quitting surpassed the number being fired or let go (statistic courtesy of the Bureau of Labor Statistics).
Some highlights and quotable quotes from the article include:
- “Employees feel disengaged with their jobs, which is going to lead to a lot of churn as we come out of the recession,” says Brett Good, a district president of Southern California for Robert Half International, an executive recruiting firm.
- Dice.com, a job board for tech professionals, asked members what could persuade them to stay in their jobs if they found another opportunity. More than 57% of the 1,273 surveyed said nothing could persuade them to stay. Of those who said they could be persuaded, 42% said they wanted a higher salary and 11% wanted a promotion.
- A survey conducted last summer for the Conference Board, a management research organization, found that the drivers of the drop in job fulfillment included less satisfaction with wages and less interest in work. In 2009, 34.6% of workers were satisfied with their wages, down more than seven percentage points from 1987. About 51% in 2009 said they were interested in work, down 19 percentage points from 1987.
It’s not too late, engage with your workforce today!
