95% of employees say they want a new job. But another Great Resignation appears unlikely

The job search website Monster has released its 2024 “New Year, New Career” report, and based on a survey from earlier this month of more than 600 U.S. workers across industries, 95% said they're looking for—or plan to look for—a new job this year.

For some insight about the findings, I had a chat with Monster career expert Vicki Salemi. During the Great Resignation, which began in early 2021 during the pandemic, a lot of workers changed jobs at the same time, Salemi explained.

“But looking back, some workers realized that they may have jumped ship too quickly, or they jumped at the highest salary number without really vetting the culture,” she said. “Or even some employers may have had a ‘bait and switch’ situation with a job description.” So then there was the Great Boomerang, where people started returning to former employers.

This year, Salemi expects workers will be more discerning in job searches and not rush into things. “People looking for jobs know it's more of a marathon, not a sprint right now,” she said, adding that some prospective new hires may even be thinking about what skills they can develop to make them more marketable.

According to Monster, 68% of workers think it will be difficult to find a new job in 2024 due to the state of the economy, up slightly from 66% last year. Just over a third (38%) anticipate the overall job market to improve, while 22% expect it to decline.

So why are people eyeing the exit? “I think it's a combination of seeing the higher cost of living and their wages not adjusting to those higher costs, as well as burnout,” Salemi said. For example, some workers have to fill in for employees who've left the company and not been replaced. “In these cases, workers are most likely stretched too thin and not seeing any reprieve in sight," she said.

About 45% of workers said they needed a higher income, up 5% from 2023, and 64% expected a higher salary due to inflation and the increased cost of living, up 18% from last year, according to the report.

Deloitte’s Q4 2023 CFO Survey released earlier this month found that domestic wages/salaries were only one of the six metrics reviewed in research where finance chiefs raised their expectations for year-over-year growth. The CFOs surveyed also mentioned the labor market as a factor that could constrain their ability to achieve financial performance goals.

“It's in the best interest of employers to be clear and transparent to hopefully keep their workers happily engaged and working but also make sure they're paid equitably,” Salemi said. If salary increases during this time aren’t feasible, employers should think of other ways to compensate employees, such as being more flexible with policies such as return-to-office mandates.

Sheryl Estrada
sheryl.estrada@fortune.com

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