Job Hopping – Advantages and Disadvantages of Switching Jobs Frequently
Job hopping – changing from one job to another within a period of months- is becoming more and more popular.
One of the main reasons for this is that the structure of work is changing. Employers are looking for workers who can get a job done. After such a task workers move on to another job. Part time and flexible work leads to people having more than one job.
In addition, rising unemployment and salary freezes have forced people to move to other jobs. In other cases, many career workers are in search of a new challenge somewhere else.
Many employers, however, often see job hoppers as a disadvantage to their firm. They think that a person who cannot hold on to a job for a longer period of time will not do a firm any good. A person who changes jobs every few years or even months is not respected by a company that values loyalty.
On the other side employers like to hire people who have had several jobs, as they are able to adapt quickly to new working environments.
Research shows that people who stay with a company for a longer time actually have better chances climbing the career ladder. The same research also shows that moving around more quickly can actually increase an employee’s salary. Long-time workers often accept low salary increases just because they don’t want to change to another company.
Young people, especially Generation Y’ers, change jobs more often because they have become used to it. Older workers who have stayed with a company for a few decades have no experience in changing jobs and do not know what awaits them.
Top earners in entertainment, politics or the economy can move around freely without having to be afraid of money losses. They can get just about any job they want and more pay.
Many workers ask themselves when the right time arrives to switch jobs. This depends on several factors, including what economic sector you are in. In the world of high-tech, jobs change quickly. People come and go, often staying only for a few months. In contrast, the workers in the farming business are valued for their loyalty and therefore stay longer.
Length of employment at the same firm differs from country to country. While an average worker in America changes jobs every 5 years, their British counterparts switch every 9 years. Italian workers stay with the same company for an average of 13 years.
Labor laws play an important part in hiring and firing workers. In Europe it is much more difficult to get rid of unwanted workers than in the US. Cultural views, as in Japan, often play an important role. Japanese workers are loyal to their companies and often stay for many decades, or even their whole life.
Yet, there are several advantages in job hopping. You get a wide range of experience in different fields, and experience different working environments. In some cases, a person gets a fulfilling job after they have tried out several others.
On the other side job hoppers often don’t show motivation at work. They are never satisfied with what they get. Switching jobs can be stressful and contribute to bad moods.
Related Topics
Words
- actually = really
- advantage = good side of something
- average = normal
- await = wait for
- career ladder = when you move up position after position in a company
- challenge = something difficult that you want to do
- counterpart = someone who has the same job somewhere else
- decade = a period of ten years
- differ = to be different
- disadvantage = bad side of something
- economy = the system of producing goods and using money in a country
- employee = worker
- employer = a person who owns a company and offers a job
- experience = understanding, practice
- factor = aspect
- fire = get rid of a worker
- firm = company
- force = make; lead to
- frequently = often
- fulfilling = something that make you feel happy , because what you are doing is interesting
- get rid of = to make a person leave
- hire = employ; give someone work
- however = but
- in addition = also
- in contrast = on the other side
- in search of = look for
- including = also
- increase = go up
- labor = work
- length = how long something is
- loss = to lose something
- part time = not full; only for some hours a week
- period = time
- politics = ideas and activities that are about the government and using power in a country
- popular = liked
- research = a study that shows new facts about a topic
- respected = admired, because of the good work you have done
- salary = money you get every month for the job you have
- salary freeze = when you do not automatically get more money every few years
- several = a few
- switch = change
- task = job
- unemployment = situation in which you are out of work
- wide range = many different kinds of
- yet = but