Should you stay in your job when your colleagues are quitting?

Should you stay in your job when your colleagues are quitting?
SEEK content teamupdated on 12 April, 2022
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Current research for SEEK shows that 35% of people are looking to change jobs in the next six months. 

However, the hiring landscape has shifted in the last 12 months from what’s called an applicant’s market (more available jobs than job seekers) to a hirer’s market (more applicants than there are jobs).   

But what does this mean for you? Should you be looking for opportunities beyond your current workplace or is it better to stay put for now?

If you’re wondering whether you should stay or go, it’s worth considering the following benefits of remaining in your role.

Potential advantages for staying 

Although starting a new job can be exciting, the grass isn’t always greener on the other side. Leah Lambart, Career and Interview Coach and Director of Relaunch Me, says that the decision to start looking for a new job shouldn’t be taken lightly.

“I always recommend that employees consider their internal options first before seeking an external opportunity,” she says. “This is particularly the case if they actually enjoy working for their current organisation, love the people that they work with and feel like most of their important values are being met.”

Remember too that you can always try to negotiate for values that are important to you. 

Gaby Tedja, a HR Business Partner at Twinings, says some of the potential benefits of looking for opportunities with your current employer include:

  • Internal promotions: “When colleagues resign, it opens up opportunities for internal promotions, especially to mid-level roles that people may have been trying to get into,” she says.
  • better work-life balance: Rather than see you go, your employer may be open to negotiating more flexible work conditions.

    ⁠“The pandemic forced a lot of companies to consider hybrid and flexible workplaces. I would say that genuinely supported work-life balance can even be more beneficial than a monetary pay rise.” 
  • Other benefits that aren’t remuneration-based: Salary isn’t the only source of benefits to consider in a role. “Benefits like gym memberships, childcare subsidies and retail discounts can all be great,” she says.

    ⁠A new role at a different company might pay more, but there’s more to job satisfaction than salary, and benefits should also be carefully considered.

While there’s the potential to ask for a pay rise, that might be trickier in a hirer’s market. Tedja advises that getting an increase in salary isn’t always straightforward.

“It depends on factors like how someone’s pay compares to the current market scale, whether their pay is relative to industry standards and if the responsibilities or scope of the role
has changed or evolved,” she says.

Lambart echoes this sentiment, saying that it’s important to come prepared if you want to ask for more pay.

“If employees are looking for a pay rise, then they need to do their homework and prepare for any salary negotiation conversations. I would recommend that they start with some market research to understand what their market rate is and what others are getting paid for doing a similar role.

Salary guides that are released annually by recruitment agencies are a good place to start. Or you can speak with recruiters who specialise in that industry sector. 

Once you have done your market research, the next step is to document how you as an employee have added value to the organisation. 

Consider what you have achieved that is above and beyond the job responsibilities. 

You may be able to quantify this if you’re working in a role with set key performance indicators (KPIs), or your achievements may be more qualitative. Think of any process improvements you’ve implemented or anything you’ve worked on that has led to a positive outcome for your employer.

Potential advantages of leaving

While staying put is no doubt the ‘safer’ option, Lambart says that there are attractive advantages to looking elsewhere, such as:

  • An increase in salary may be a good reason to look outside your current organisation, especially if you feel that your current salary is well below market rate.
  • Increased responsibility may also come with a new role if there isn’t anywhere to move in your current organisation.
  • Increased wellbeing is always a good reason to consider a move to a new organisation, particularly if you are in a work situation that is negatively affecting your wellbeing.

New opportunities for growth are another advantage of moving into a new role. You might have reached a position where you’ve stopped learning and growing, and there may not be anywhere else in your company to go.

Leaving an employer always comes with some risk – even more so in a hirers’ market, where competition for jobs is high. Before making a decision, first weigh up the pros and cons and make sure you’ve explored all avenues at your current workplace before making the leap. 

Source: Independent research conducted by Nature on behalf of SEEK, interviewing 4800 Australians annually. Published August 2024.

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