Six in ten workers in Ireland will leave their current employer in the next ten years, and three in ten do not see themselves with the same company in five years’ time.

This is according to a new survey from Lockton People Solutions which shows that for Irish workers, a job-for-life is very much a dated concept, with employees regularly reassessing their career trajectories and most are open to pursuing new opportunities with different employers.

Women and Men

The biggest cohort of workers (28%) believe they will be with their employer for only the next five years before thinking of moving on. One in five said they expect to be with their current employer in ten years times, and a further 83% said they will not be there in 20 years.

Female workers in Ireland currently appear to be more open to being 'lifers' when it comes to work – more than two in ten women (22%) compared to just over one in ten men said they could see themselves being with the same employer for the next 20 years.

Public Sector More Stable

Public sector workers are more likely than other sectors to say they would be with their current employer for 10 years (27%) or even 20 years (28%) from now.

Those in hospitality and property and construction were the least likely groups to see themselves being with the same employer in the long term.

Work-Life Balance

Experts at Lockton say there can be a variety of factors impacting the decision to leave one’s employment, such as poor work-life balance, lack of career progression opportunities, or limited flexible working arrangements. 

The employee benefits specialists advise that it’s important that employers accurately capture the main drivers behind staff retention issues to help mitigate risk.

Employee Benefits

“When we drilled into the data, it would seem that small and medium-sized organisations are more likely than multi-nationals to have a higher level of staff turnover in the next five years – approximately 38% of workers in these organisations said they could only see themselves with the same company for one or two years, compared just 28% of workers in very large organisations," said Tom Curran of Lockton People Solutions.

"With life expectancy in Ireland expected to increase to almost 90 years by 2050, and portfolio careers becoming more mainstream, employee benefits need to change in response”.

Source: www.businessworld.ie