Over a quarter of workers are looking for an employment change

Those that are overworked, struggling with the cost of living or in the younger generation are the most likely to part ways with their current employer, says PwC.

Over a quarter of employees are searching for a change in employment despite the softening global economy, according to a global PwC report.

PwC’s Global Workforce Hopes and Fears Survey revealed the behaviours and attitudes of almost 54,000 workers across 46 countries and territories.

One of the key trends the survey found is that the ‘Great Resignation’ is set to continue as more than one in four (26 per cent) employees stated they would likely change jobs in the next 12 months, up from 19 per cent previously.

Those most likely to search for a new employer are those who feel overworked at 44 per cent, those who had struggled to pay the bills every month at 38 per cent, and Gen Z at 35 per cent.

The firm found the softening economy is creating a rise in employees who feel cash strapped as the number of those in the global workforce that said they had money left over at the end of the month had fallen to 38 per cent, down from 47 per cent the previous year.

PwC said the economic conditions are increasing pay demands as the number of workers planning to ask for a pay increase rose from 35 per cent to 42 per cent year on year.

PwC global chair Bob Moritz said the softening economy has created a distinction within the workforce.

“The global workforce is divided into two - those with valuable skills who are well set to keep learning, and those without,” said Mr Moritz.

“We found that often, those without the skills are less financially secure and less able to access training in the skills of the future.”

“In a world where CEOs know they need to transform their businesses to succeed, they need to combine the benefits of technology with a plan to unlock the talents of all workers. It is in no-one’s interest for businesses to chase the same group of skilled workers while the rest of society gets left behind.”

The firm found employers are missing out on talent due to old-fashioned approaches to recruitment and development, more than one-third (35 per cent) of workers with specialist skills moderately or strongly agreed that they had missed out on opportunities due to not knowing the right people.

Partner in PwC US’s Strategy & Business team, Bhushan Sethi, said the creation of a skills-first labour market could help address the skills and labour shortages.

“With the ongoing economic uncertainty, we see a global workforce that wants more pay and more meaning from their work,” said Mr Sethi. “Addressing those needs will be critical as leaders seek to transform their workplaces enabling business model reinvention, profitable growth and job creation.”

“A critical part of this transformation agenda will include accessing alternative talent pools through a skills-first hiring approach, to address today’s skills and labour shortages.”

“Evaluating and upskilling people based on what they can do in the future, not just what they have demonstrated in the past can deliver sustainable economic, business and societal outcomes.”

PwC also found employers played a key role in employee retention with confidence in a firm’s long-term longevity a key factor.

The survey revealed workers who believed their company would not survive a decade on its current path were more than twice as likely to leave in the next 12 months, 43 per cent compared to 19 per cent.

Global people and organisation leader at PwC UK, Pete Brown, said a business’s C-suite needs to take command of their entity’s retention strategy and look to the human skills of their prospective employees.

“At every turn, CEOs know they must reinvent their business in order to survive the next challenge,” said Mr Brown.

“We see that leadership is needed more than ever to retain talent, while also recruiting those with the human skills necessary to weather any storm.”

“C-suites must listen to their people today if they are to create a viable workforce of the future, for tomorrow.”

This article originally appeared on HR Leader's sister brand Accountants Daily.