Frequently changing jobs, often known as ‘job hopping’ is becoming more prominent, especially since the 2020 Covid-19 pandemic. It was always understood that regularly leaving your job to find a higher paying one is frowned upon and can end up making you less employable, but is this really the case?
As with most things there is more than one answer. Those against job hopping believe it makes a prospective candidate look disloyal and therefore the employer may feel that the costs of hiring a new employee who is only going to leave again soon is not worth it so will not consider them. Some employers also believe that employees who have had multiple jobs over a small period of time are hard to manage and only focused on salary. A company is less likely to invest in a candidate, be that training, opportunities or simply time, in an employee who isn’t there for the long term. It can be seen as a waste of resources.
However, those in support of job hopping believe the positives vastly outweigh the negatives. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) data shows workers who change jobs within a year of beginning a role have consistently higher hourly wage growth over those who stay. This is especially true for those in the 16-24 age bracket.
Those in favour of job hopping argue that it’s not just about salary, and that the image of a job hopper being ‘greedy’ is simply not true. They believe that moving between companies is a great way to learn new skills and develop in your role. It also means you don’t have to put up with a toxic environment which can be very detrimental to an employee’s mental health.
Overall, there is no definitive answer on job hopping. While it is not as much of a taboo as it was a decade ago, it still isn’t widely accepted among employers. It’s certainly a generational shift, as Generation Z and Millennial employees are the groups most likely to change jobs frequently. Only time will tell if job hopping becomes a standard, acceptable behaviour.
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