New research from consulting firm McKinsey has revealed that hospitality and leisure workers are 'most likely' to quit their jobs, but many healthcare and white-collar workers are also planning to dip.

Two surveys were conducted across five countries - Australia, the United States, Canada, Singapore, and the United Kingdom - of both employers and employees spanning across multiple industries.

Of the 5,774 people of working age surveyed, it was revealed that 40% are 'somewhat likely' to quit their jobs within the next three to six months. 

Additionally, 18% of these respondents said they were either 'likely' or 'almost certain' about quitting.

Out of the people surveyed by McKinsey that had quit their jobs in the past six months, 36% didn't have another job lined up.

Specifically, 42% of healthcare workers that left their jobs did so without another job waiting for them.

Additionally, almost two-thirds of respondents that are intent on quitting said they would do so without another job ready to go.

This is despite job vacancies dropping by 9.8% in the three months to August 2021, ABS data revealed.

However, job vacancies remain higher than they were six months ago, and are 46.5% higher than before the pandemic in February 2020.

More than half (53%) of the 250 employers McKinsey surveyed said they are experiencing greater voluntary turnover than in previous years.

Of these people, 64% expect this trend to continue or get worse.

According to McKinsey's findings, this shows how 'fundamentally different' the current climate is from previous downturn-and-recovery cycles.

Job leavers have money on their minds

Backing these findings, new survey data from HR platform Employment Hero found that 40% of the 1,000 local workers surveyed said they were going to be looking for work within the next six months.

Almost half of the respondents to Employment Hero's survey said they would stay in their position if offered a pay rise.

Alex Hattingh, Employment Hero's chief people officer, said that if businesses can afford to give their employees a pay increase, now is the time to do it.

"The cost of turnover is high for businesses. It is better for them to shuffle funds now to stay in line with industry standards than to cop the costs later," Ms Hattingh said.

"This is especially true for the 30% of workers whose pay has not been reinstated after receiving a pandemic pay-cut."

Additionally, 28% of workers said they wanted their next employer to offer them flexible working options, such as flexible location and hours.

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