Shock findings! Millennials are not as selfish as you might think
Millennials are less likely to switch jobs from year to year than the previous generation, and are missing out on the financial gains that come with high job mobility.
A report by the Resolution Foundation has found that only four percent of those who reached working age at the start of the 2000s have frequently changed jobs.
In comparison, workers from Generation X – those who were born in the early 1970s – changed jobs twice as frequently in their youth.
The study also found that millennials are considerably more likely to remain with a single employer for more than five years than the previous generation.
The high level of job loyalty displayed by millennials debunks the myth that they are job-hoppers who only care about making a quick buck.
The findings are all the more surprising because loyalty comes at a considerable cost.
The current level of inflation has led to a drop in real wages for the long-term employed.
“With the typical pay rise for a job mover in their mid-20s at around 15 per cent and evidence that employers have essentially stopped rewarding their long-serving staff with real annual pay increases, such job loyalty can be very costly,” said Laura Gardiner, a senior analyst at the Resolution Foundation.
One explanation for the decline in job-hopping among millennials is the 2008 global financial crisis and the ensuing lack of job security.
Gardiner noted that the proliferation of temporary work and zero-hour contracts in the post-crisis environment explains the reluctance of millennials to leave their full-time jobs, despite the financial disadvantages.
According to Resolution Foundation, older generations have made £2.7 trillion for themselves at our (read: millennials) expense.
— Bae Grylls (@TheAuracl3) 14 February 2017
In fact, millennials are likely to be the first generation in British history to earn less than the previous one.
In another report by the Resolution Foundation, it was found that the average man born in the early 1980s will earn £12,500 ($15,600) less in his youth than the preceding generation.
