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They are called “job zappers” or “job hoppers”. All these terms refer to employees who regularly change companies. In the United States, this phenomenon is such that it has given rise to the concept of “quick quitting”.
The “quick quitting” is used to designate those employees who are reluctant to spend their entire career with the same company as their elders did. They stay in office for a maximum of a year before seeing if the grass isn’t greener elsewhere. This term is not to be confused with the concept of “quiet quitting”, which consists of scrupulously respecting one’s employment contract. In other words, to do the bare minimum.
Followers of “quick quitting” are on the move precisely so as not to fall into the pitfall of silent resignation. They fear being bored at work and suffering from “bore out”, this form of exhaustion fed by repeated downtime and the accumulation of unrewarding professional tasks. Scientific work proves them right: employees who are bored at work are two to three times more likely to be victims of cardiovascular accidents, according to an english study made in 2010.
If the “bore out” syndrome is still struggling to be recognized by medicine and labor law, the Covid-19 crisis has revived the quest for professional meaning. So much so that it is now a real concern for 92% of employees, according to a investigation produced in 2022 by Audencia and Jobs that make sense. But what do they aspire to, exactly? To contribute to the challenges of ecological and/or social transition (57%), and quite simply to feel useful (53%).
Employees in search of meaning, especially the youngest, no longer hesitate to change jobs many times to meet their personal and professional aspirations. This trend is particularly marked in the United States where the short-term seniority rate [nombre de postes qui se terminent avant un an] jumped in 2022, as indicated the “Economic Graph” study from LinkedIn. Junior employees swell the ranks of American “quick quits”, as do managers. They have faced significant challenges during the pandemic, which is why they jump ship from the company so quickly if the position to which they have been promoted does not fully suit them.
This change in behavior questions recruiters and managers, who see it as a lack of professional stability or loyalty to the company. Criticisms that the “quick quits” brush aside, especially those belonging to generation Z. The latter claim a more uninhibited vision of the management of their career: the expression “career plan” does not speak to them, they see no harm in chaining short periods in different boxes. They even say that this multitude of experiences is a strength, just like the “mad skills” that adorn their CVs.