UCL School of Management

29 July 2022

Increase in people quitting their jobs are going on to earn more

Business people walking through the lobby of an office
Surveys show that in 2021 there was a mass increase of people leaving their jobs, 47,000 in fact. Of those switching 60% saw an increase in their earnings, even when adjusted for inflation. And only half of those who remained in their jobs received a pay rise.
 
Speaking with Marketplace, School of Management Professor, Anthony Klotz, who coined the term “the great resignation”, explains that whilst there are multiple reasons people switch jobs, money is a powerful motivator. Klotz said, “one thing that we can often see in that next job is that it pays more, we may not know whether we’ll like our next boss or coworkers but usually we can figure out the pay pretty easily.”.
 
Klotz continues to explain that although money plays an important part in job switchers decisions it is not the only factor, and there can be contributing factors that are out of the employers control. Speaking about his own move, he said a large part was the location and the pull to London.
 
Last updated Friday, 2 September 2022