More than 6.5 million UK employees expect to quit their job in the next 12 months, with 35% moving elsewhere for better pay and benefits, according to new research from the Chartered Institute of Personnel Development (CIPD).
This year’s CIPD Good work index, which is a survey of more than 6,000 UK workers, measured job quality across seven different dimensions and found that pay and benefits, employment contracts, work-life balance, job design and the nature of work, relationships at work, and health and wellbeing influence employees’ intention to quit.
The research discovered that one in five (20%) said it is likely that they will quit their current role in the next 12 months, compared with 16% in 2021. Of those who are looking to quit their job, 27% want to increase job satisfaction, 24% are looking for a better work-life balance and 23% want to do a different type of work.
When asked why they left their last organisation, 21% admitted that their reason was that they were unhappy with the leadership of senior management, rising to 30% for those who changed jobs in the last 12 months.
Just 39% of those earning up to £20,000 per year say their job offers good skill development opportunities, compared with 72% of those earning £60,000 or above per year. Only 25% of lower earners admitted that their job offers good career advancement prospects, as opposed to 51% of higher earners.
Melanie Green, research adviser for the CIPD, said: “While pay is the main motivator for job moves, there are many reasons why people leave roles, and numerous barriers preventing people from being able to leave. This means going beyond pay to think about how people’s roles are designed, how flexible their role can be, in location or hours, supporting good health and wellbeing, and investing in employee development so they have the means to progress in their career.
“By taking a holistic look at the dimensions of good work, and bolstering people management practices, managers and employers can make a real difference to people’s working lives.”