By Chuang Peck Ming

THE economic slowdown doesn't seem to have calmed the restlessness of workers.

More than half - 57.9 per cent - of employees surveyed recently in Singapore by recruitment firm Ambition said they plan to change jobs this year, at least when market conditions allow.

Next to pay, the survey found career and personal development to be the key in attracting and retaining workers. Yet three in five of the employees surveyed complained they are not provided enough training and development to be equipped for career progression. And the most unhappy are managers.

The workers in the survey cut across many job functions at all levels. The itch to job-hop despite the sluggish economic growth is also seen in Ambition's recruitment work here in recent months.

'Candidate flow remains consistent and with bonuses being paid out in the first quarter, we anticipate movement and spike in recruitment levels as we progress through the first quarter and into the second quarter,' says Paul Endacott, the firm's managing director in Singapore. 'We also expect clients to be taking advantage of up-skilling during this period and have seen an increased demand for contractors.'

Even as hirings are tipped to dip as the economy shifts to lower gear, the labour market has stayed tight.

The year that just ended saw the jobless rate falling to a 14-year low of 2.0 per cent. Yet there are growing signs that bosses are wary of taking on more workers. Virtually all the employers - 96.7 per cent - Ambition surveyed said they are hit by sluggish global demand. One in five sees a business downswing. A large number of employees actually shared the view.

Some 41.9 per cent of the workers have lowered their pay expectations to a 3-5 per cent raise in 2012. That's not far from the percentage - 50 per cent - of employers who expect to pay that much. Half the workers polled think bonus will only be under 10 per cent of base pay this year, while 46 per cent of the bosses thought that's about right given the poorer business. So employers and employees see eye to eye when it comes to pay and bonuses, which should make everyone happy.

Yet the survey shows more than half of the workers want to quit, when they should want to hold on to their jobs for dear life - in fact, only 10 per cent of the workers think it's easy to find a new job in today's market conditions.

Original post:
Restless employees looking to quit even during a slowdown