Recession fears are keeping people in jobs they would otherwise leave

It’s difficult to find news that doesn’t somehow revert back to talk of an impending recession. As a result, employees are staying in jobs they would otherwise consider leaving. That’s according to software development company Beamery’s latest Talent Index, which shows that 40% of employees are putting job hunting on hold until the economy stabilizes.

“It’s never been more important for business leaders to focus on improving retention strategies,” says Abakar Saidov, Co-Founder and CEO of Beamery. “We can clearly see from the data that employees are really focused on compensation, culture and opportunities to learn and grow. As businesses begin to plan for the new year, addressing total compensation and rewards, investment in training managers and leaders, and having a real focus on upskilling and career development, should be a top priority.”

Alongside recession fears, inflation is also having a direct impact on job movement. The top reason given, among those considering leaving their job in the next 12 months, is better pay at other places (33%), followed by no salary increases at their current organization (27%). However, nearly 20% of respondents are not confident they would find a new job in the current market, reporting they feel it would take six months or longer to secure a new role. When comparing confidence levels in abilities to find a new role, across previous Talent Index reports from the last 12 months, the highest rate of confidence hit 79%, yet today these levels are reported to be at their lowest level yet – 67%.

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While employees decide whether to stay or leave, career progression opportunities remain top of mind, with over one third (38%) of employees listing upskilling and development as sought after workplace benefits. However, 24% cite ‘lack of progression opportunities’ in their current workplace among the top three most frustrating aspects of their job. For employers that do offer career development opportunities, 20% of employees still say they’ve missed out on taking advantage of this as they’re too busy with their current workload to upskill, while 19% say their employer doesn’t know their current skills so ‘wouldn’t know where to start’.