Job hopping the new normal for Canadians

Poor relationship with boss top reason for quitting; switching careers common, Workopolis study finds

Turns out the Easter Bunny isn’t the only one hopping around these days — Canadian workers are, too.

A Workopolis poll released Thursday reveals that 51 per cent of those who responded had been in the same job for less than two years, while 30 per cent say they’ve held one job for more than four years.

That’s a dramatic increase from the employment website’s survey results from 1990 to 2000, which show only 16 per cent held the same job for less than two years.

And 60 per cent of respondents from the earlier survey said they had been in the same job for more than four years, double today’s percentage.

“Job hopping is becoming an increasingly common pattern in Canada’s employment market,” said Tara Talbot, vice-president of human resources at Workopolis. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, she said.

“While historically it may raise a red flag, in today’s market it can also demonstrate unique qualities such as broad industry perspective, flexibility and an inclination towards hard work and risktaking — all sought-after assets in a candidate,” she said.

In addition to shorter tenure times, Canadians are also changing careers more frequently, says the poll, with 48 per cent of those surveyed saying they’ve had three or more distinct career paths.

More than two-thirds (69 per cent) of people have worked in more than one field, while 31 per cent say they’ve always worked in the same industry.

The report reveals the top reason Canadians leave their jobs is a poor working relationship with their boss, at 37 per cent, followed by boredom with their work at 29 per cent, while 20 per cent say they left for better opportunities else- where and 14 per cent cited a poor fit in the work culture and with co-workers.

The old expression “People don’t quit the job, they quit the boss” obviously holds true today, noted Talbot.

“Frequent restructurings and reorganizations of companies mean that people are changing bosses more often. There’s less incentive to build up those relationships involving loyalty and trust.

“Unfortunately, employees leaving jobs because of their boss means they’re moving away from something negative rather than necessarily towards something better,” she noted.

Job hopping is the new normal mostly because of the fast-paced world we live in now, Talbot said.

“Companies are under pressure to show immediate results, so they’re often planning for the next quarter, or the next six months, rather than having a five- or 10year development plan,” she said.

This in turn causes more frequent restructuring and staff turnover, she noted, adding it also means companies are less likely to train employees for future skills needs.

Similarly, candidates now tend to think short-term about their jobs.

“More people view their career as the succession of roles they’ve had at numerous jobs rather than a long tenure at any one job.”

And while we hear anecdotally about Gen Y being less loyal to their employers and changing jobs more frequently, the data doesn’t single them out, she said, adding it’s a trend that goes across the board.

For this report, Workopolis says its research team analyzed millions of resumé employment histories and employer resumé-view patterns and polled thousands of Canadians between January and March of this year.