BUSINESS NEWS - UK – More than a third of workers consider changing jobs due to rising cost of living
Posted 11th March 2022 • Written by staffingindustry.com • • • • •
Spiralling inflation and increased cost of living is causing 37% workers in the UK to consider changing jobs, according to research from Totaljobs.
Totaljobs’ research found that employees do not think their pay is keeping up with the rising cost of living.
Nearly half, or 48%, say they have not had a pay rise in the past year, and the 42% of those who did only reported a rise of 5% or less which would be less than the current rate of inflation (5.5%). Furthermore, nearly a third, or 30%, of employees say that their salary does not cover basic living costs. Almost half (47%) say that they have limited disposable income and are living pay slip to pay slip.
At the same time, more than a third of employers, or 37%, said that they were concerned about the quality of life for their employees due to rising living costs.
According to Totaljobs, 17% of workers have resorted to taking a second job to boost their income, rising to one fifth of essential workers. A further 30% are taking on extra shifts at work to earn more money.
A third of workers don’t expect their pay to increase in the next year, rising to 51% for social care workers, 41% of those working in education and 37% of healthcare professionals. For those who do expect a pay rise, 41% expect this to be 5% or less, with inflation expected to peak at least to 7%, this shows that a majority expect their salary to shrink in real terms.
While 37% of workers are considering changing jobs this year, this figure rises to 47% amongst social care workers. In social care alone, this could mean an exodus of more than 700,000 care workers in the next year.
Essential workers were found to be twice as likely to have handed in their notice in recent months and move into a different sector because they were offered more money. Nearly half, 48%, said they would be willing to change sectors completely in pursuit of better pay, the same figure for non-essential workers.
Jon Wilson, CEO of Totaljobs said, “This research illustrates that everyone is feeling the pinch of the rising cost of living – yet it is disproportionately felt by our key workers - to the extent that some are looking to move jobs for one that provides them with more financial security.”
When asked what action they would like to see from employers to help deal with the cost of living, a pay rise in line with inflation came out as the number one ask, with 52% ranking this as a priority. This was followed by paid overtime (36%), subsidies for energy bills when working from home (27%), a one-time bonus (22%), and internet subsidies if working from home (19%).
The research found that 84% of employers are already taking action to support their staff. 35% are giving everyone a pay rise in line with inflation, 29% are letting employees choose where they work to help cushion expenditure, and 24% are offering financial wellbeing advice. Nearly all employers (96%) said they want to see support from the government.
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