It’s Monday morning, and chances are that most of us had a pretty rotten journey to work. Rather than whingeing, read on ….
More than three quarters of workers in the UK are prepared to relocate to a different city to find work, while two-thirds would be willing to move overseas, according to a new international workplace survey.
The survey, by global recruitment firm Kelly Services, also found that many UK workers are willing to spend long periods travelling to and from work, with over a sixth (17%) prepared to devote at least two hours a day to commuting.
According to Kelly Services director of marketing, Steve Girdler,
“With a more globalised workforce, there is increasing recognition that people may have to relocate to find the right work, or to advance their career. There are many skills that are easily transferable across borders, especially in sectors such as banking and finance, IT, science and engineering.”
Among the key findings of the survey were:
• 77% of people would consider relocating to a different city for work
• 66% would consider relocating to a different country for work
• 47% would consider relocating to a country where they didn’t fluently speak the local language
• 55% of people say they would like to stay living and working where they currently live until they retire
“For a growing number, a move to a different city or country can be a rewarding professional experience as well as an exciting lifestyle choice,”added Girdler.
“Employees, in general, have become far more willing to be flexible in both their travel and living arrangements in order to find the right job”.
Those workers most likely to move were aged 34 years or below. Typically, they had fewer family and other commitments that prevented them from relocating. Males were more willing to relocate than females, although in an ideal world, equal numbers (55%) would prefer not to move if they didn’t have to.
When asked to rank the main complicating factors in moving to another country for work, the overwhelming issue was ‘family’, cited by 55% of respondents; followed by ‘language barriers’ (42%); ‘property ownership’ (25%); ‘children’s schooling’ (18%); ‘tax complications’ (10%); and ‘pension/superannuation rights’ (9%).
The survey found that in the UK, 45% of people would like to move away from the place where they currently live and work before their retirement. The United States proved more home-loving, however, with over two thirds wanting to stay put for life.
Travelling times to and from work are a key consideration for employees and a majority (51%) are not willing to spend more than 45 minutes, each way, commuting.
However, 31% are willing to spend 45-60 minutes and 17% are willing to spend 60 minutes or more each way. Females are much less tolerant of longer travelling times than males. Our tolerance for longer travelling times is one of the highest of all the countries surveyed, the UK coming joint third with Spain and Poland, just a few points behind Belgium and Finland. This is in marked contrast with Italy, the United States and Mexico, the least likely to commute for long periods.
Worldwide the most mobile nation was Poland, with 90% of its respondents prepared to relocate to another city or country for work. This was, perhaps, not surprising, as the UK has itself been the recipient of significant numbers of Polish workers
