In today’s entry, the itzBig Blog references a post from New Workforce, which quotes an article in IT Pro about a study in the UK indicating that IT professionals are usually “flirting” with new opportunities (I’m sure you followed that). The quote responsible for the above history is as follows:

The “Work in Progress: Jobseekers survey”, carried out by polling firm Loudhouse Research, surveyed over 1,000 UK workers across the UK and found that nearly half (48 per cent) of workers in IT have applied for a job or registered with a recruitment agency in the past 12 months. Despite this, over two-thirds (68 per cent) reckon they will still be in the same job 12 months from now.

I’ve seen a few studies and articles that all say the same thing: most IT workers are passively looking for better opportunities. At this point in the evolution of the IT workplace and the workplace in general, for that matter, I am not sure that this can be considered news. The Internet has made the process of “flirting” with employers extremely easy and relatively anonymous, if practiced carefully.

The typical employment relationship is most directly comparable to a romantic affair between two single people. It can be a mutually satisfying experience for both parties, but at least one of the parties is cognizant of the fact that it is not a marriage and they are always going to be looking for their next opportunity. The lack of emotional or moral attachment makes it acceptable to continually seek and explore new relationships. This is one of the primary forces driving the recruiting and human resources industry and it ensures that the industry will thrive as long as human beings are required to work to survive.

In short, it’s human nature for employees to look for a better job as much as it is for a woman to glance twice at a handsome man that crosses her path. The fact that 68% of the people in the above survey “reckon they will still be in the same job 12 months from now” speaks to the difficulty of finding better positions and the inherent aversions that people have of leaving a “sure thing” for the unknown.

Tags: IT workers, job opportunities, job seekers, recruitment agency

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