SINGAPORE: When Ms Kumar, 27, told her parents she planned to leave her first job, her mother was taken aback and questioned her lack of “loyalty” to the company.
Ms Kumar, who preferred to be known by her surname only, found this sentiment “quite ridiculous”. She left her job as a university administrative executive early last year.
“You have to be loyal to yourself … what you deserve and how you want to improve. If the company’s not serving you, it’s okay to leave,” she told CNA.
Her point of view appears to be shared by working-age peers in Gen Z – loosely defined as the generation born from 1997 to 2012, and aged 13 to 28 this year.
In a survey by CNA’s Money Mind programme, Gen Z workers in Singapore aged 21 to 28 reported the shortest mean optimum period – 2.9 years – for staying in a job, compared to their counterparts in Asian countries.
It was 3.5 years for workers in Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines; 3.7 in Malaysia; and the longest of 4.6 in China.
Staying for three to four years was the most popular option for Gen Z workers in most countries, including Singapore. China and the Philippines bucked the trend, with most choosing to stay for five years or more.
In Singapore, 37 per cent of Gen Z workers would choose to stay for a shorter period of one to two years. This was higher than all other countries, particularly China, where just 5 per cent chose this option.
Out of the 508 respondents in Singapore, only 14 per cent chose five years or more as the optimum duration in a job. This was by far the lowest proportion among countries surveyed.
Gen Z workers have a strong desire for higher salaries and career growth, and changing jobs every two to three years is seen as an effective way to develop their careers, said Mr David Blasco, country director at recruiter Randstad Singapore.
But individual motivations aside, structural reasons may also be a factor.
“The pandemic and economic instability, marked by a surge in ‘revenge hiring’ quickly followed by global restructuring and a slowing economy, have made traditional job security feel less attainable,” said Mr Blasco.
“As a result, Gen Z’s tendency to job-hop is better understood as a rational response to a more volatile market, not simply a lack of commitment.”
Related:
Gen Z Speaks: At 22, I’ve already had 12 part-time jobs. It’s been hard, but it’s prepared me for ‘real’ working life
Why Hong Kong’s Gen Z is ditching full-time work
NOT RESTING ON LAURELS
Ms Kumar, now a programme executive in a non-profit, cited job satisfaction and personal and career development as her main reasons for switching both job and industry.
The Money Mind survey found that in Singapore, work-life balance (65 per cent), high wages (62 per cent) and flexible work arrangements (53 per cent) were Gen Z workers’ top reasons for staying in a job.
On the flip side, work-related stress (48 per cent), lack of career advancement (44 per cent) and unhappiness with a superior or colleague (44 per cent) were their top reasons for quitting in Singapore.
Other Gen Z workers interviewed by CNA cited similar motivations as Ms Kumar.
Mr Heng T J, 28, a public servant in healthcare who asked to be identified by his initials, has changed jobs three times in five years.
Since he started working in 2020, his longest role has been for about two years in a university, while his shortest stint has been around half a year in a bank.
Mr Heng said he did not…
