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Spring exodus of employees, new survey shows

By BAO CHANG (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-03-29 09:50

Spring exodus of employees, new survey shows BEIJING: A new survey shows more than 50 percent of employees polled are planning to change their jobs this spring.

The survey, entitled "2010 Spring Job-hopping Trend", was conducted by Zhaopin.com, one of the largest human resources service providers in China. It predicted a job-hopping spree as the first "golden March and silver April" after the financial crisis began to recede.

Among more than 7,000 employees polled, 55.6 percent said they were planning to change jobs and 10.5 percent have just begun new employment. The news will present a headache to employers forced to find new staff after a mass exodus.

"I'm planning to find a new job this spring because I want more of a challenge," said 28-year-old Lucy Han who has worked at a private enterprise for three years.

A total of 45.3 percent of the employees said they would consider switching profession when choosing a new job. For those who are planning to change their jobs, foreign-funded enterprises are their top choices, followed by State-owned businesses. Private companies were the least favored option, the survey showed.

Job-hoppers are swarming to foreign-funded enterprises because of their advanced management systems, good working environments and international colleague networks, respondents said.

However, experts from Zhaopin.com said that many job-hoppers ignored the fact that many private Chinese enterprises have also developed competitive benefit packages for their employees.

Spring exodus of employees, new survey shows

A white-collar worker reads job ads on a Zhejiang recruitment paper. A survey entitled "2010 Spring Job-hopping Trend" conducted by a Chinese employment skills website shows there will be an increasing number of Chinese planning to change their jobs in the pursuit of higher pay, better opportunities and improved work conditions this spring. [CFP]

According to the survey, the biggest motivation for active job-hoppers was the limited opportunity for career development. That reason polled 35.8 percent of the votes.

Unfavorable compensation and benefits (C&B) in their current job was the second-largest concern of respondents, with 25.3 percent expressing unhappiness with their lot.

Meanwhile, good development opportunities and C&B were considered two essential factors to attract applicants. A total of 72.6 percent of employees said they regarded C&B as the most important consideration in choosing a job. Consultants at zhaopin.com said the key for enterprises to maintain talented personnel was to ensure the right person was working in the right position and placing full trust in them.

In addition, 14.7 percent of job-hoppers hoped to double their salary when they chose a new job, 1.1 percentage points higher than last spring, the survey showed.

At the same time, about 30 percent of job-hoppers expected a 50 percent rise in their salary, 6.2 percentage points higher than 2009.

The figures indicate that people's confidence is growing amid China's economic recovery.