More employees in Singapore plan to leave current jobs

More employees in Singapore are looking to leave their current employers for better career opportunities, higher financial compensation, and a better work-life balance.

This is the conclusion taken from networking platform LinkedIn, which released results this week from surveying over 1,000 professionals aged 18-77. The report found that 86% of the respondents polled were looking to leave their current employers, an increase of 15 % from the year before. Push factors in doing so were because respondents wanted higher wages in a challenging economic environment; and a better work-life balance, which indicated that respondents were more likely to take ownership of their careers and make up for lost time by focusing on productivity and career growth.

The survey results also noted that Gen Z employees (aged 18-26 years old),  and millennials, (categorised as 27 to 32), were the biggest age groups looking out for new jobs, with around 70% of respondents saying that they would likely choose a different industry or job role for their next career move. Top reasons for doing so include a desire to explore other interests, adding to their experience and making themselves a more attractive candidate, as well as pursuing a role or industry with better growth prospects.

READ MORE: Tech and finance jobs in strong demand for 2024 in Singapore

Despite taking the risk of leaving a job amid a cooler labour market with slower hiring, 50 % of those polled in the latest survey felt confident about their prospects if they were to quit, more so than how they felt in 2023.

Data from the Ministry of Manpower in Singapore for the third quarter of 2023 showed the number of job vacancies at 78,400 in September 2023, which marked a decline for the sixth consecutive quarter from the peak of 126,000 in March 2022, reported The Straits Times.