These days though, those in the workforce know that switching jobs every few years is undoubtedly a thing. And it’s not just jobs: Britons are changing up their careers too.
Some experts say people will have about 12 jobs across their working lives, and that 29% will completely change fields. In the UK, new research from CIPD found that about four million people have changed careers due to a lack of flexibility at work, and two million have left a job for the same reason.
Other research has identified five years as the normal amount of time a UK worker will spend at a job, but this can be industry-specific.
Tenure is changing
For example, within the tech sector, Googlers tend to only stay at the company for about 16 months, according to a recent study conducted by Resume.io. The average tenure at Zoom is the same, while Reddit’s is lower at 1.2 years, and the Meta average is 1.7 years.
Where a short span of time spent in a role used to be a significant red flag for recruiters, that is changing. As we move further and further away from the idea of a job for life, the entry of new generations into the workforce is de-stigmatising this further.
New research from the US has found that 22.3% of workers aged 20 and older spent a year or less at their jobs in 2022. It is the highest percentage with a tenure that short since 2006.
In the UK in 2022, 4.3 million Gen Zs were in the workforce. While this cohort isn’t the dominant group yet––11.4 million Gen X and 12.2 million Millennials are also working––its influence is being felt.
This is a generation that wants it all – fast. Recent research has found that 41% of Gen Zs believe their ideas are their strongest asset, and as a result, 54% expect an annual promotion.
This has resulted in “job title inflation” where positions featuring “Lead”, “Vice President” or “Manager” in the job title (where the candidate was expected to have a maximum of two years’ experience) were up 38% over the last year.
Managers say that what this generation of workers lacks in experience they make up for in perseverance (32%), and their entrepreneurial mindsets (25%). Two thirds of employers say they are impressed with the level of autonomy this generation is able to handle.
Burnout on the rise
If a Gen Z worker doesn’t get what they want from their employer, whether that’s a title change, promotion or more money, they are likely to look elsewhere for it. For older workers, lessons can be learned from their younger colleagues.
“Gruelling” work intensity is a growing problem in the UK according to research from the TUC. It found that 55% of workers feel that work is getting more intense and demanding, 61% are exhausted at the end of most working days.
Thirty-six percent say they spend additional time outside of their contracted hours reading, sending and answering emails, while 32% say they spend more time outside of contracted hours doing their actual core work activities.
It is these figures that have given rise to the workplace trends of rust out, bore out and quiet quitting: they are all symptomatic of classic worker burnout and disengagement. Where older workers may be content to sit things out hoping that they’ll improve, younger workers will jump ship.
Switch for career progression
There are a myriad of benefits to be gained from switching jobs, and even industries. From reinvigorating your love of what you do, to resetting your expectations around what’s acceptable in terms of your workload, as well as gaining new skills and competencies, you’ll also get access to new people who can help progress your career.
The biggest bonus can come in the form of a salary bump. For many employees, a job switch represents their only real chance to make more money, which is another factor in the shortening cycle of job tenure.
The bottom line is, for those workers who fear stagnation, but are held in place by the inertia of worrying that a recruiter won’t look favourably on their application based on the time spent at the current role, taking a leaf out of Gen Z’s book is a no bad thing.