Most UK workers want to quit their jobs in 2022, study suggests

‘The good news is that employers can take action to prevent increased staff turnover,’ says study leader

Olivia Petter
Tuesday 30 November 2021 14:01 GMT
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It looks like many people will be quitting their job soon, at least, that’s what the latest findings were from a study conducted by job website CV Library.

According to the website’s survey of 2,000 employees, three our of four of them are considering handing in their notice in 2022.

Meanwhile, the same number of people plan to either retrain or improve their skillset.

Many of those surveyed said their reasons for quitting were to do with general career changes in addition to looking for better pay and more flexible working situations.

A third of those surveyed, however, said they simply felt “burnt out” while half claimed to know someone who quit their job this year.

Lee Biggins, chief executive of CV-Library, said: “The combination of confidence slowly building in the UK economy and the pandemic triggering people to reassess their lives and search for more happiness, money and flexibility has created a perfect storm in the job market.

“The good news is that employers can take action to prevent increased staff turnover.”

The survey comes after surveys around the world have found that many people intend to quit their jobs after using the pandemic to reconsider their futures.

Roughly four million Americans quit their jobs in September (a record three per cent of the work force) while similar stats in other countries have led to people dubbing 2021 the year of the “Great Resignation”.

The “Great Resignation” term itself was coined by by Professor Anthony Klotz, associate professor of Management at Mays Business School, Texas A&M University in an interview with Bloomberg Businessweek.

Mr Klotz claimed that people who had clung onto their jobs during the pandemic because of uncertainty were now ready to make a move and leave their current job in favour of something better, hence the influx of resignations.

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