Over half of employees who have been told by employers to work in the office are currently or planning on looking for a new job this year, per a report released Monday.
"Eighteen percent of workers forced to [return to the office] say they are currently looking for a new job" and "36% plan to look this year," ResumeBuilder.com found in a February survey conducted via SurveyMonkey.
"Many of those who are currently seeking out a new job are doing so actively," the report explained. "In fact, 11% are applying to more than 10 positions per week, while 28% are applying to six to 10 positions, and 60% are applying to one to five jobs."
A vast majority of jobseekers say that their top priority is a higher salary at 70%, but 56% cite better benefits, 50% say they want improved growth opportunities and 32% say they want a better company culture.
43% of workers who have been forced to return to the office said that policy was a factor in their search for a new job. 60% said they "want to work less than frequently from the office" than is currently required by their employer, "24% want to work from the office less than once per week" and "17% want to be fully remote."
"More than two-thirds of respondents attribute their job search towards seeking higher salaries, shedding light on how returning to the office can effectively translate to a pay reduction for many individuals, especially considering factors such as commuting expenses," Chief Career Advisor at Resume Builder Stacie Haller said. "The desire for increased compensation, therefore, emerges as a predictable response to this financial consideration."
MOST FEDERAL GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES CONTINUE REMOTE WORK, CONTRADICTING BIDEN PLEDGE
"It’s abundantly clear that employees are looking for a greater degree of autonomy in determining how and where they work from," she added. "Companies that prioritize aligning their practices with the preferences of their workforce are the ones successfully retaining talent. Those that do not are witnessing a surge in turnover rates."
In December, a federal watchdog published a report that revealed there is not one government agency that occupies even half of its office space.
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) issued the report, which Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, requested earlier this year over concerns about wasted taxpayer dollars, revealed the 24 top federal departments utilized between 7% and 49% of their office space with most agencies using less than 30%.
Fox News' Thomas Catenacci contributed to this report.
