The Great Resignation isn’t all it was cracked up to be.
Recall that the Great Resignation is the theory that masses of workers quit their jobs in the past couple years to switch to new ones, take a hiatus from working or retire.
But just 29% of American workers have switched jobs in that period, according to a survey of more than 1,000 workers by LendingTree’s MagnifyMoney.
And only a third (33%) of workers would rather exit their current employers for new jobs than switch roles internally. Some 19% would be willing to accept a lateral move rather than leave.
Even among those making less than $35,000 a year, 60% would rather stay than go.
So it makes sense that just 17% of workers are actively applying for new jobs outside their present employer, and 13% are looking but not applying.
Gen Z Most Eager for a ChangeAs for those who have switched, Generation Z (born 1997-2004) had the highest proclivity to switch, with about half (49%) of them making the move. Millennials (born 1981-1996) are second at 32%, and Baby Boomers (born 1946-1965) are last at 15%.
For workers in the survey, like the rest of us, it’s largely about the bucks. Fully 5 of every 6 (83%) of them said they wouldn’t mind holding less senior titles if they were well paid.
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Some workers say the job offers they received weren’t set in stone, with 9% reporting that a job offer has been rescinded in the past year. The total rises to 19% among those earning at least $100,000.
Men are twice as likely as women to have had a job offer rescinded in the past year: 12% versus 6%.
Workers Break Their WordBut it’s not just new employers bailing out.
Indeed, 15% of workers have failed to show up for a new job, including 20% of Gen Zers and 19% of Millennials. Just 3% of baby boomers are in this category. Those making six figures were the most likely to blow off the prospective employer.
Switching jobs means entering an unknown.
“If [employees] are happy where they work and like the company culture, it can be risky to sacrifice that for a new environment that may not be as palatable,” says MagnifyMoney Executive Editor Ismat Mangla.
Among the workers who did leave an employer, a third (34%) of them have returned. That’s the case with 38% of those leaving with a salary of less than $35,000 a year and 38%, too, of Gen Zers who left.
Some workers may feel a reason to look around: 34% feel they don’t have job security.