Back then, when someone used to switch careers after shorter periods of time (usually one or two years of working), they would be generally considered as disloyal to the employer, lacking purpose for career growth as presumed. For people nowadays like Millennials and Gen Z, however, job hopping is not a new thing. Rather than seeing job hopping as a sign of disloyalty, it is now seen as an effort to seek fast upward mobility in careers. What makes job hopping so attractive for Millennials and Gen Z? Here are some of its pros and cons for career growth.
Understanding Job Hopping
When offered with better opportunities, people are more inclined to switch jobs. Being labeled a “job hopper” may not have the same impact on one’s employment chances as it formerly did; employee loyalty is more important than their years of stay with a company. Except in Indonesia, where attitudes are more diverse, people in Southeast Asia often regard a job hopper to be someone who has been in his or her employment for one year or less, according to a Milieu Insight survey.
PRO: Get a higher salary.
It is not a secret that among other reasons, better financial offers from other companies still remain the main force for people to change jobs. When you have the right experience and skill sets needed in your field of expertise you can get a higher salary than what you earn in your current company. This is also the case with many employees who just recently welcomed a newborn; more people in the family means needing more money. It is not exactly wrong for people to want a better living by pursuing a job that pays more, hence job hopping becomes more prevalent these days.
PRO: Provide more options.
Millennials and Gen Z have a strong desire to learn new things and do not want to be stuck in a habit that is monotonous and boring. Rather than staying with a particular company for a longer amount of time, they prefer to look into other career opportunities. They are always able to choose a career that best matches their interests and opportunity for new challenges. For example, people may get bored from only dealing with web development in their current company, which makes them look into other companies that make room for new challenges like learning Android and iOS software development.
PRO: Build a broader network.
Staying with the same company for years, especially in jobs that do not deal with external clients often, can lead to stagnation in networking. Job hopping means dealing with new managers, coworkers, and customers. Connecting with many businesses can help build a wider professional network while also allowing people to see how people conduct business in other sectors of expertise. They can also get access to a broader range of resources that they may not be able to get from their current company.
PRO: Fostering Adaptability
People who change jobs typically have a lot of experience. It is tough to go from one company to another. This is why job hoppers are known for their adaptability, flexibility, and communication skills. They can also train their ‘survival skill’ in their career and do not hesitate to try new things in their jobs, even taking risks.
Read Also: Perceptions of Job Hopping in Southeast Asia
CONS : Employers want longevity.
It is possible to anticipate future behavior based on past attitudes. When hiring managers notice a big number of employers on your Resume and indicators of frequent job-hopping in a short period of time, they perceive instability, and you risk getting passed over by global companies searching for steady employees with excellent skills and experience. In the long run, this might limit potential job advancement opportunities. Employers do not want to risk recruiting someone who will likely quit after a few years since onboarding and training new hires is a costly process.
CONS : Difficulty building relationships.
Building a strong relationship takes time, and you simply risk spending too much time on this if you choose to do job-hopping all too often. While it is true that you will meet more people from various backgrounds, this does not necessarily imply that you will get to know them well enough to develop a good professional connection. This might shatter your professional networks, causing you to miss out on prospective opportunities in the long term.
CONS : Shallow experience.
Not all skills can be learned or mastered in a short amount of time. While you may have the opportunity to try a variety of different things, that does not guarantee you will be able to master the skills required to excel in your career. Additionally, leaving a job with a short tenure cannot have a significant impact on the company.
CONS : Insecurity on jobs.
With global economic downturn and volatile markets, slump in businesses, companies are then forced to conduct layoffs, chances are, the job hopper might be asked to leave first. On top of that, many companies are doing mass layoff and hiring freeze, which makes job-hopping a very volatile decision that leads to insecurity on jobs. Companies tend to retain employees with long tenure of work within the firm compared to new ones with an infamous history of job-hopping.
If businesses want to minimize talent attrition and voluntary employee turnover, as well as losing top performers, Hr managers must prioritize and organize their recruiting strategies to adapt to the changing laws of recruitment today and in the future. Finally, preventing your employees from pursuing a better life outside of your company is a poor decision. The only way to prevent job hopping from becoming the standard is to enhance your management from the inside out. There will be very little motivation for your employees to contemplate leaving jobs if you treat them properly, pay them fairly, and make them feel valued.
Read Also: HR Nightmare: Job Hopping Looks Like the New Normal
