Study Looks at Motivations Behind Career Decisions
Maynard, MA, October 31, 2006--Monster, the global online careers and recruitment resource releases availability of a research study examining the factors that motivate a worker to leave a job, or accept or decline a new position.
The study, titled "A Changing Landscape: The Effect of Age, Gender and Ethnicity on Career Decisions," surveyed employed online job seekers across three demographic segments - age, gender and ethnicity - to identify commonalities and key differentiators between these groups in terms of their career decisions.
"Across the survey segments, we found that salary, opportunity for work-life balance and benefits were the leading deal-makers when a seeker accepts a new job - regardless of his or her age, gender or ethnicity," said Steve Pemberton, chief diversity officer, Monster. "It is also interesting that among the commonalities we uncovered, diversity in the workforce is not something valued just by diverse populations. On the contrary, almost half of all Caucasians surveyed indicate that a prospective employer's level of diversity is very important to them."
To help employers with targeting recruiting and retention efforts, the study also examines key differences across the surveyed demographics. Below are select highlights that address the following: the factors weighed more heavily by ethnic job seekers (African-Americans, Asians and Hispanics) when evaluating a potential employer; the importance of work-life balance initiatives in attracting female employees and retaining male employees; and what drives older workers to search for new jobs.
Monster will conduct a Webcast on October 30th at 1:00 p.m. ET during which the survey's complete findings will be discussed. Registration may be found at: http://monster.edatab2b.com/webinar1030.aspx
Ethnicity
A salient finding among ethnic job seekers surveyed is that this group is particularly cognizant of opportunities for advancement. Eighty percent of African-Americans and 77 percent of Hispanics surveyed indicate the opportunity for upward mobility is "important" when deciding whether to accept a new job, as compared to just 63 percent of their Caucasian counterparts.
"When evaluating a job opportunity, ethnic job seekers want to feel confident about their opportunities for advancement. As such, this group is more likely to scrutinize a prospective employer's learning and development initiatives," notes Pemberton.
Gender
Women tend to place a higher value on work-life balance than men do when considering a new job. Forty-one percent of women - compared to just 26 percent of men - believe having no flexibility with regard to work hours is a reason to not accept a new position. However, 40 percent of men indicate their current employer is not flexible enough in terms of allowing them to balance their professional and personal lives, compared to just 28 percent of women.
"Based on our findings, more women than men are looking for benefits like telecommuting and flexible work days during the job selection process," surmised Pemberton. "But when you look at the reasons why workers leave an organization, work-life balance is a bigger area of contention among men. The bottom line for employers is that promoting work-life balance is key in attracting and retaining people, regardless of gender."
Age
"There are currently about 150 million workers in the U.S., according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and 78 million of these workers are Baby Boomers who represent the most skilled and knowledgeable workers in the labor market," Pemberton said. "As many people in this generation are planning to forgo fulltime retirement, savvy employers should focus on offering competitive health insurance and retirement plans - the factors we found to be more important to this demographic than to younger employees."
