In a world where career paths are evolving rapidly, the traditional view of job hopping is undergoing a seismic shift. Gone are the days of sticking to one role for decades. Today's workforce craves variety, challenge and growth. Is job hopping becoming the new norm? Should it be? Let's take a closer look.
The notion of job hopping is generally looked down upon in the workplace. However, it’s time we walk back from this mindset, especially when it comes to younger talent.
To find a position or industry that ticks every box is difficult. In a perfect world, a career should be fulfilling, motivating and challenging while also providing opportunities for growth and meeting basic needs around pay, benefits and work-life balance.
The only way for workers to truly know what they want to do is to try it themselves. Rather than generalizing job hopping as a career no-no, I think it should be embraced. Job hopping shows these workers are motivated, driven, curious and serious enough about their careers to take the scary leap of trying out a new career, industry or company.
It also seems employers have no choice but to embrace job hopping as it has become common practice in the workplace. More than 22% of workers over the age of 20 spent a year or less at their jobs in 2022, the highest percentage with a tenure that short since 2006, according to research from the Employee Benefit Research Institute (paywall). Moving into 2024, this is not expected to slow down, as a Resume Lab report found that 83% of Gen-Z workers consider themselves to be job hoppers. The takeaway? Workers are not afraid to leave a job if they are not getting what they want out of it.
Here’s how companies can rethink their workforce strategy to better attract and retain workers.
Instead of focusing on how a worker obtained their skills, focus on what skills they have. It is easy to set a company standard that job hopping should not be discriminated against, but we are all human, and biases will seep in. That’s why employers need to take it a step further and integrate skills-based hiring into their recruitment strategy.
With a skills-based hiring approach, human resources teams can prioritize evaluating a candidate’s skill set for their specific job functions, helping remove hiring barriers and existing biases. This means a candidate will not be looked down upon if they held various positions, had a career break or do not have a college degree, making the hiring process more equitable for all.
But as an employer, does that mean you’ll hire less qualified candidates? No, in fact, it's the opposite. When employers take a skills-based hiring approach, they are hyper-focused on finding a candidate with the best skill set for their position and company. Rather than getting sidetracked by what candidate came from the most prestigious college or who worked at the most reputable company, HR managers are evaluating candidates based on them as individuals.
Of course, there can be red flags when candidates switch jobs too often within a short period of time, but with skills-based hiring, an employer will get the opportunity to see for themselves if this should be a non-starter.
With the modern worker engaging in job hopping, should leaders just wave the white flag on retention? Absolutely not.
Gen-Z and the general workforce are not job hopping for the fun of it; they are doing so because their current employer or position is not providing what they need or want. It varies from worker to worker—some want higher salaries, others are seeking a higher sense of purpose at work—so employers can work to ensure they are providing their workforce with a fulfilling experience by simply asking them.
To lead and manage a workforce properly, employers need an accurate gauge of their opinions about key aspects like work-life balance, benefits, career mobility and pay. Leaders can keep a pulse on their workforce needs by holding regular check-ins with employees and issuing employee-wide surveys.
When an employer is in tune with their workforce, they move from a reactive to a proactive state with their people strategy. If they are getting inklings that workers are unhappy with certain policies, they can stay one step ahead by working to fix these issues before it is too late. Not only does this help to ensure the company is providing the work experience desired by its workforce but it shows that leaders truly care and value their workers and are acting accordingly.
In conclusion, in corporate America, job hopping has traditionally had negative connotations for workers as it raises suspicions about the reliability and quality of a worker. But it is time we get down to what’s causing job tenure to shrink and look inward. What can your company do to provide the worker experience people are seeking? By removing existing stigmas around job hopping and embracing skills-based hiring, companies can take a major step in building the workforce of tomorrow.
