But recession not main driver for people staying put
The proportion of workers leaving their employer at any one time fell by more than two-fifths between 1998 and 2012, presenting businesses with challenges in establishing cultures of innovation, new research has revealed.
In its report, ‘Has job turnover slowed down?’, data analysis by the CIPD also found that this trend equally allowed for the long-term retention of employee knowledge and skills.
The institute’s study of official figures from the Office for National Statistics showed that in October to December 2012, 2.6 per cent of employees left their jobs, compared with a figure of 4.5 per cent for the same period in 1998.
Chief economist at the CIPD, Mark Beatson, said that the aging population combined with fewer young people in the workplace would exacerbate this trend.
His analysis of ONS data showed that older workers – those in the 50 plus age group – were least likely to move jobs, while turnover was highest among young people.
“So we may well see historically low turnover rates for years to come,” he said.
Since 2008, the average period that people spend in their job has been increasing and this is a trend that has been seen in a number of other countries including the USA.
“This is a trend that seems to have crept up on us. We have been told for a long time to expect the end of the ‘job for life’ and more frequent changes of employers and careers but the data appears to have been moving in the opposite direction,” Beatson said.
“We expect job turnover to be low in recessions because people ‘sit tight’ waiting for the jobs market to improve, but in fact turnover was falling well before the recession took hold. Our research suggests turnover may also have fallen because of changes that have taken place within the workplace. For example, increased job satisfaction and employee engagement may have reduced the number of disaffected employees jumping ship.
“Employers have also got better at providing opportunities for people to move within their organisations – giving people opportunities to develop and grow without moving employers. Employment legislation might also have played a supporting role.”
Beatson said that while employers recognised the benefits of low turnover, they must also think about how to keep longer-serving employees motivated, refreshed and up to date with business practice.
“Innovative organisations require new thinking and challenges to existing ways of doing things. A lack of new blood means businesses will need to carefully tap into the knowledge and commitment of the existing workforce to generate a culture of innovation,” he added.
More people staying put will also make life harder for recruiters as the UK workforce is less mobile. However, Beatson predicted that job turnover will increase as the labour market picks up.
This report forms part of CIPD’s Megatrends research project – for more information visit: http://www.cipd.co.uk/megatrends