"Each for Themselves" Youth, COVID-19 Driven Job Change Wave

Blind Survey Results: Half of Office Workers
"Have Tried Changing Jobs Within a Year"

Quit Due to Job Dissatisfaction or
Pursue Graduate Studies to Follow Dreams
Experts Say "Psychological Anxiety Influences"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Suhwan] "I decided to change jobs out of fear that someday I might also be subject to restructuring."

Park Mo (26), a second-year employee working at a small-to-medium enterprise (SME) in Seoul, passed the recruitment for experienced positions at a large corporation last December. He said he decided to change jobs due to pressure from restructuring. After the COVID-19 pandemic, the SME he worked for suffered a significant drop in sales, and he saw senior employees resigning one after another. Park said, "I solidified my decision to change jobs after seeing my mentor being pressured to resign and eventually leaving the company."

Due to the instability in the job market triggered by COVID-19 and the contraction of the business environment, young workers who had just taken their first steps into society after struggling to find employment are leaving their companies. The determination and resolve they had right after joining are shaken during their work life, leading them to submit resignation letters for better wages, benefits, and a more stable life.

According to a survey released last month by the anonymous employee community 'Blind,' 50.4% of 72,109 workers responded that they had attempted to change jobs within a year. This figure increased by about 15 percentage points compared to the previous year (35.8%). Earlier, in a survey by JobKorea last September, 48.3% of workers with less than five years of experience answered that they were preparing to change jobs.

The increasing wave of job changes is due to psychological pressure caused by employment insecurity after COVID-19. Noh Mo (25), a third-year employee working in the advertising industry, is also preparing to change jobs for similar reasons. The economy shrank due to COVID-19, and the advertising market was severely affected, causing a sharp decline in his company's sales. He said, "After seeing our company struggle post-COVID-19, I started comparing it more with other companies," adding, "My desire to work for a stable and solid company has grown."

Many also choose to enter graduate school. Lee Mo (26), a four-month employee at an SME, said, "The company I currently work for has a high proportion of overseas exports, but sales were hit hard by COVID-19," adding, "Stability has disappeared, and anxiety is increasing, so I'd rather go to graduate school and achieve the dreams I couldn't fulfill."

COVID-19 is also changing values regarding jobs. Kim Mo (25), who works at a large corporation, became a public service exam candidate (Gongsisaeng) within a year of joining. He thought everything would be good at a large company, but the prolonged COVID-19 made him prioritize job stability, and the final destination of his job change became a public institution. Some prepare to change jobs due to decreased job satisfaction caused by COVID-19. Yoo Mo (30), an employee engaged in sales, said, "Since I couldn't go on business trips after COVID-19, I haven't felt any professional fulfillment," adding, "For this reason, I became interested in changing to the work or industry I wanted to do."

Experts analyze that the anxiety about job stability triggered by COVID-19 is accelerating the wave of job changes. Professor Kwak Geumju of the Department of Psychology at Seoul National University said, "Unlike in the past, the concept of a lifelong job is disappearing, and this psychological anxiety has influenced the wave of job changes." Professor Song Jaeryong of the Department of Sociology at Kyung Hee University said, "Young people today are not very satisfied with their current jobs, so the desire to change jobs has always existed," adding, "COVID-19 became a stimulus for job changes."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.