Why Millennials Job Hop

Many assume that millennials job-hop to chase after money rather than waiting for a better opportunity, but in most cases that is not true. CareerBuilder shared a survey that revealed 45 percent of newly hired college graduates remained in the company for less than 2 years. Interestingly, the Bureau of Labor found that baby boomers did as much job hopping as millennials do in today’s society (Landrum, 2017). The tendency of job-hopping continues to become inevitable for most millennials. In particular, 60 percent of the young employees have a window to join a new job. In 2016, 21 percent of the total population of working millennials moved to new jobs within the year which was higher compared to the population of gen Xers who switched places of work (Alton, 2018). Therefore, there is a strong backing that millennials are likely to job-hop more in the future. On the other hand, there is the need to compare the proportion of millennial job-hoppers and those that retain their employment. In 2016, the population of individuals aged 18 to 35 that managed to retain their job within a one-calendar-year in 2016 was 63.4 percent (Alton, 2018). It is important to note the proportion is substantial but those individuals that lie within this age range and had kept their job for 5 years was 22 percent for millennials. Thus, it clearly indicates that millennials have a high tendency of job-hopping.

A person needs to obtain job satisfaction for personal and organizational success. It is ethical for millennials to job-hop when seeking job satisfaction because it helps people develop their careers, expand their network and find a better fit in work culture. In particular, there are stereotypes attached to job hopping by the millennials. They include being enthusiastic about technology, lacking commitment, and immaturity (Alton, 2018). However, there is no clear explanation on why employers hold this perception. Employee retention has become a challenge in most organizations and therefore, employers tend to discourage job hoping. Strategic job hopping informs and notifies employers that millennials are searching for better career paths. Most millennials do not know what job they are looking for, so they are often searching for a position that equals what they want. Alton (2018) stated that people who job hop should not feel ashamed for seeking several job opportunities when they are trying to find that they want to do for their career. Which means that these individuals are looking for stability and find something that is long-term in the workplace. For example, a person who has been doing retail for all their life and has been in school for the rest of the years has not experienced what they are good at which will lead this person to job hop.

Talent has pushed most millennial employees to job-hop. It is important to note that most organizations fail to reward talent as it should which forces millennials to seek experience elsewhere. The main concern of millennial workers is not in the number of jobs they have held in the past but the progress they have made in their profession. The tendency of switching jobs has enabled millennials to acquire the much-needed training leave alone the allowances and cash bonuses they may receive along the way. The talent of innovation is difficult to find and therefore employers who come across it offer a good bargain (Landrum, 2017). The culture of job-hopping among the millennials has been fueled by the search of talent. Thus, despite the high benefits, it is clear that the labor force is constantly changing and organizations need to recruit top talent.

The key to career success is to become a lifetime learner, which leads to being open to pursuing personal and professional knowledge. Millennials often look for other jobs to search for benefits and positive job experiences which their current occupations do not provide. The primary reason for the millennial job hoping is because they need to find an environment that they perfectly fit, earn a relatively higher income, and they are in a position to advance in their career. Besides, only a small proportion of millennials job hop after incidences such as embezzling and bodily harm arise (Alton, 2018). Therefore, employers should embrace job-hopping millennials and offer them employment as they possess capabilities that may help give their companies a competitive edge and therefore grow the brand. Similarly, millennial job hoppers could be highly productive if organizations start mentorship programs to tap their capabilities.

Employees who experience negative issues force them to have a different aspect on the job. Many employees leave their jobs when they see unfair treatment of a co-worker or to themselves. Similarly, work circumstances can be positive or negative which can cause the employee to leave their job. But, an employee who is satisfied is equally inclined to job switching (Landrum, 2017). For instance, an employee who works through an agency in the health care system and the employee is not being treated equally or getting the same pay as others they would prefer to be a permanent employee because the current response from the position is not pleasing. Employees who are unsatisfied with work problems tend to resign because they are not pleased with the organization.

When a person job hops, they are already expanding their network by associating with co-workers, managers, leaders and other influencers; including themselves. When millennials job hop they are building a worldwide network to land a better job. For example, a person who job hops get an interview with another organization, and the interviewer ask for references this employee is going to know who to call specifically. Huang and Zhang (2013) stated that the higher amount of learning comes from knowing others who are not afraid to afraid to spread their knowledge. Meaning that when individuals job hop they obtain knowledge to show others what they have learned. Employees frequently hunt for jobs to expand their network and spread their knowledge to others.

On the other hand, employees who job-hop tend to be adaptive. The primary reason for this is because they possess a great potential that will assist to grow the organization. Secondly, the millennial job-hoppers are disruptive as they question the current status the organization is operating in that limits productivity. Therefore, the company will manage to identify what needs to change for better results. Third, millennial job-hoppers are free to take the risk as it is within them to switch employment after a given period lapse. For this matter, millennial employees should be the best candidates for jobs owing to their risk-taking trait (Landrum, 2017). Lastly, millennial job-hopping induces the young employees to social responsibility which they will comfortably bring to an organization that lacked the practice. Hence, it is through millennial job-hopping that the society can benefit from organizations that are situated within a given locality.

Conclusion

Job-hopping has become a common phenomenon and especially among the millennials. There could be different reasons behind the tendency of job hopping among the millennials. They include job success and organizational success, advancing talent, enhancing professional knowledge, expanding career network among others. However, there is a stereotype attached to millennial job hopping. Despite all the concerns raised by employers, it is evident that there are sufficient reasons to make millennials switch jobs. On the other hand, statistics have proven that the millennials are job-hopping more than the generation Xers. the characteristics and capabilities possessed by the millennial job-hoppers include adaptive, risk-takers, and are oriented towards social responsibility. Therefore, employers need to change their perception of how they view millennial job-hoppers and their abilities could turn around organizational outcomes. On the other hand, the employment landscape has changed significantly over time which has fueled job movement. There are minimal cases of millennials leaving their employment owing to cases of bodily harm or embezzlement but are occurrences that may make a millennial to leave their job. One of them is the unfair treatment of employees in the different sectors. It is important to note that a conducive working environment does not rule out millennial job hopping. Hence, there are advantages that make millennial employees to switch jobs.

References

Alton, L. (2018). Millennials Aren’t Job Hopping, Young People Are: 5 Things To Keep In Mind. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/larryalton/2018/01/22/millennials-arent-job-hopping-young-people-are-5-things-to-keep-in-mind/#58d2713910d8

Dixon, L. (2017). Are Millennials Really Job Hoppers? Let’s Look at the Data. Retrieved from http://www.talenteconomy.io/2017/09/11/job-hoppers/

Huang, P., & Zhang, Z. (2013). Participation in open knowledge communities and job-hopping: evidence from enterprise software.

Landrum, S. (2017, June 02). Millennials And Job-Hopping: What’s Really Happening And What It Means. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/sarahlandrum/2017/06/02/millennials-and-job-hopping-whats-really-happening-and-what-it-means/#5ce0292f3fbf