Fueled by burnout and fears about career growth, more than a third of Millennials say they plan to look for a new job with a different employer once the pandemic comes to an end, a new study says.

Millennials — more than any other generation — are the ones on the move; the largest generation in the workforce tallied the highest percentage (34 per cent) of those who agreed they are planning to look for a new job, compared to Gen Xers (24 per cent) and Baby Boomers (10 per cent).

The startling findings come from Prudential’s “Pulse of the American Worker Survey,” which looked into how workers are adapting to tomorrow’s workplace.

Obviously, things have changed quite a bit from where we were in the early months of 2020. The coronavirus pandemic changed the whole conversation around work, and it’s becoming more clear what workers want from a future workplace — and that starts with a better work-life balance.

Millennials — often characterised as lazy and entitled — aren’t the only ones searching for a better workplace experience.

Twenty-seven percent of all workers said a better work-life balance was the reason for them planning to look elsewhere for work.

Freezes to payroll also played a role in career-switching; 26 per cent of workers said they wanted better compensation, while the same percentage are seeking something new.

With much of the world stopping in 2020, workers felt the same way about their career. Nearly half of all workers said they are concerned about their career growth, according to the survey.

Of those that said they plan to look for a new job, 80 per cent said questions about their personal growth played a role in looking for new work.

While six in 10 workers used the downtime in the pandemic to train themselves on new skills, 72 per cent of workers planning to leave their jobs said the pandemic made them rethink their tool sets.

One of the surprising developments of the pandemic has been the change in remote culture. In May 2020, 36 per cent of employees said they felt connected to their company while working remotely.

However, the number has risen as workers continued working through the pandemic. Nearly half — 47 per cent — said they now feel connected, when respondents were asked in March 2021.

Employees said it is ultimately up to managers to make them feel connected — and they want to see some changes that reflect the new workplace.

 

This article was originally published on The Ladders.