Economy keeps people in wrong jobs

Most workers are staying in their job because of the recession, even though many wanted to switch to a different career, new research has revealed.

A survey of 3,000 employees found that three out of four had no plans to find a new job, mainly because the economic downturn had led to fewer vacancies.

A third of those questioned by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) said they wanted to change their job, with one in four looking to switch to a different career.

Banking, finance and construction workers were most likely to want to change jobs in the next year, while staff in private firms hit by redundancies were more likely to consider changing to a different sector, such as voluntary groups.

Claire McCartney of the CIPD said: "What is striking is the high proportion of people wanting to change sector or even change their line of work altogether.

"Concerns over job security and finding new work are prompting people to re-think their career aspirations and ambitions. This will also have a big impact on trends in the labour market.

"It's clear from this quarter's findings that the poor state of the labour market is acting like a dam holding back the normal flow of talent.

"Once job opportunities increase, however, dissatisfied employees will vote with their feet and leave, making it important for employers not to take the loyalty of their people for granted.

"Employers need to be careful to avoid complacency. The recession may keep your best people with you for now, but you need to take the time to focus on building employee engagement by providing employees with clarity around career paths and setting work that is meaningful to them, if you want them to stay put when better times return."