Study: Two in five could quit job tomorrow and be financially stable for more than six months

BambooHR, a cloud-based human resources management platform based in Lindon, has released a new study of more than 2,000 U.S. adults examining how expectations around work and unemployment have shifted. 

According to the study, the Great Resignation is still at play. It found that in the past six months, 43 percent of working Americans have considered looking for a new job. What many employers don’t realize is just how feasible unemployment is for employees. The survey found that two in five (41 percent) Americans believe they could be unemployed for more than six months while remaining financially stable, with the average length being eight months.

As of March, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics estimated that there were 158,458,000 employed adults in America — meaning over 65 million workers in the U.S. could take at least a six-month break from work without a paycheck. With the price tag of hiring one new employee costing more than $4,000, it is imperative that employers learn what it takes to retain employees, study authors said.

“Amidst the Great Resignation, people have taken a step back to really think about what matters to them and their priorities,” said Anita Grantham, head of HR at BambooHR. “Our study found that there is a deep shift happening where workers are closely examining what they want in an employer and making 180-degree career pivots when necessary to find the pay and workplace environments that they truly desire.”

Nearly two-thirds (63 percent) of working Americans have considered changing their entire career path, industry or heading back to school in the past six months. Leaders now have the added pressure of ensuring that employees find fulfillment in their jobs and their industry. If they don’t, employees can quit and take six months or more to figure out what it is they truly want to spend their time doing, Grantham said.

Other study findings:

• 27 percent of American workers are considering quitting because they’re dissatisfied with their work.

• 88percent of employed Americans could see themselves working in another industry than the one they are currently employed in, with the top choices being healthcare (14 percent), business/professional services (13 percent) and the arts and entertainment (12 percent).

• Nearly all (94 percent) of Gen Z and (94 percent) millennials could see themselves working in an industry other than the one they are currently employed in, compared to 84 percent of Gen X and 72 percent of boomers.

Money matters. It’s not the only thing people care about, but the survey findings confirmed that wage is the main driver for this “Great Shift” as some are no longer willing to put up with unsatisfactory pay and others are tired of working multiple jobs just to make ends meet.

The most important characteristics of a job to Americans are living wages (61 percent) and opportunities for raises (49 percent). One in 10 employed Americans currently work multiple jobs. Of those, 31 percent do it because they can’t afford to live without a second paycheck and 25 percent do it to pay off debt.

Willingly unemployed Americans are getting by while unemployed using savings (56 percent), family member income (46 percent) and retirement accounts (38 percent), study results found.

In addition to pay, many workers are looking at new careers due to feeling dissatisfied and uncared-for by their employers. Despite the rise in benefits, nearly two in five (38 percent) Americans say that in the past year, they’ve felt the least valued they’ve ever felt in their entire working career.

The study also concluded that the pandemic seems to have soured the employee-employer relationship. One-third (34 percent) of Americans say their current or most recent employer has cared less about them as an employee in the past two years and 28 percent of Americans say that in the past two years, they’ve cared less about their employer. Twenty-nine percent of Americans don’t feel like work is worth it anymore.

The main actions employers can take to make employees feel valued are giving a bonus or raise (61 percent), recognizing their work one-on-one (48 percent) and giving adequate support to do their job through tools and personnel (46 percent), workers told surveyors.