Employee Insecurity is Reshaping the UK Labour Market

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Active job seeking in the UK has steadily increased by 5% over the last year, according to new data from CEB, now Gartner, with less than one third of employees reporting high intent to stay with their existing employer. However, job seekers are demonstrating increasing caution amid low wages and Brexit uncertainty, which is changing the face of the UK labour market.

These findings emerge against a backdrop of pay stagnation. Employees in the UK only anticipate a 0.2% pay rise – a figure which sits well below the global average of 3.8%.

According to the latest Global Talent Monitor report, almost half of UK employees also report indifference to going ‘above and beyond’ with their daily professional duties, with discretionary effort in Britain lower than in the US, Canada, Germany, Spain, India, Australia and New Zealand.

Britons are also increasingly less willing to uproot geographically for a new job. In particular, the share of under-35s who move regions for work has dropped by one-fifth since 2000.

"Employees have greater flexibility than ever before, and people can now kick-start companies from the comfort of their own bedrooms," said Brian Kropp, HR practice leader at Gartner. "However, the latest data shows that, in a political and economic climate defined by uncertainty, British workers crave stability and comfort when seeking new opportunities."

"Less fluidity in the job market may be suppressing real wage growth, since the best way to secure a pay rise is to switch employer, which may involve moving to a new location to enhance productivity."

The biggest attraction-drivers for UK job seekers are work-life balance (55%), location (43.1%), and stability (34.5%). This contrasts to the global picture, where compensation takes the top spot (45.25 per-cent), and the requirement for a healthy work-life balance is 15% lower than in the UK

Global Talent Monitor data is drawn from the larger CEB Global Labour Market Survey, which is made up of more than 22,000 employees across 40 countries. The survey is conducted quarterly and is reflective of market conditions during the quarter preceding publication. 

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