Most employees in China looking to switch jobs, survey finds

More than two-thirds of Chinese workers are switching jobs or looking to do so due to dissatisfaction with their pay and their promotion prospects, according to research.

A report on job-hopping activity this spring released by online recruitment company Zhaopin said more than half of employees planned to switch jobs in three years.

The findings are based on a survey of 50,837 people in 37 major cities including Beijing, Shanghai, Hangzhou, Wuxi and Hefei.

The report said 69 percent of employees are in the process of completing resignation or entry procedures, or looking for new job opportunities. That’s down from 80 percent in a similar survey in spring last year.

In terms of work experience, employees with five to eight years of experience are the most likely to change jobs, with 72.5 percent taking steps to do so.

The report said such employees, with sufficient experience and clear career goals, tended to hop jobs when they found better opportunities or ran into promotion bottlenecks.

The top three reasons for changing jobs were dissatisfaction with pay, their employer’s poor prospects and limited scope for personal advancement. 

A 39-year-old assistant manager at a State-owned insurance company in Hefei, Anhui province, said she tried to switch jobs this year but has now given up. 

“The direct reason for my job hopping was failing to win the post of department manager last year, a job for which I think I’m qualified,” she said, adding that she had been with the company seven years. “I also want a new job environment.”

She applied for a job as a department manager at another insurance company but wasn’t offered an interview.

“I’ve given up changing jobs because I’m a little old for that and my daughter, who is preparing for her middle school graduation examination, needs a stable family environment,” she said. 

The report said March and April are the peak time for job hopping.

A senior human resources manager at a Shanghai branch of China State Construction said many companies launched projects after the Spring Festival holiday in February to search for talent.

“In addition, some employees will also make up their minds to change jobs after contemplating such a move during the holiday,” he said. 

Zhao Yu, 24, quit his job as an editor at an advertising company in Beijing at the end of February and is now looking for a media-related job.

“I learned almost nothing there and didn’t grow,” he said. “Besides, I only earned 5,000 yuan ($790) a month, which wasn’t much.”

The report said the media and entertainment sector had the highest percentage of workers looking to switch jobs, 74.5 percent, followed by the real estate industry with 70.7 percent. It said just over 19 percent of people switched jobs in an average year.

Zhao worked at the ad company for eight months after graduating from university in June. “Changing jobs within a year is too frequent. A period of three years is more appropriate,” he said. “If I get a job where I can learn a lot, I will stay longer.”

The manager in Shanghai said job hopping had different short- and long-term effects. “It can help you get a more generous salary and a higher position in the short-term, but your loyalty toward your employer shrinks, which could influence your long-term career development,” he said.