Over half of employees in Singapore revealed that they’re actively looking for a new job and hope to make some career changes in the next 12 months.

Of the 51 percent of professionals intending to look for a new job, about a quarter said they’re keen on switching careers or the industry they work in.

About one in five said the job search is motivated by their retrenchment amidst the COVID-19 crisis.

Others have cited reasons related to salary for their intention to switch employers:

• 21 percent have had a pay cut or a pay freeze either indefinitely or for a temporary period. 17 percent were dissatisfied with their current salary
• Close to seven in 10 (69 percent) of all respondents are willing to take on professional contract or project-based jobs given the current condition, found Randstad’s new study.
• Those who would rather wait for a permanent job opportunity cited the lack of job security (65 percent) and hassle of finding a new job every time a contract ends (19 percent) as their top two reasons for not considering a term-based role.

While the job market may be uncertain during the recession, Jaya Dass, managing director, Malaysia and Singapore at Randstad suggested that COVID-19 may have significantly impacted jobseekers’ career priorities.

“Employees whose job responsibilities have been drastically altered to meet current and new demands may hence be motivated to enter new industries that are perceived to be more recession-proof or can provide a greater level of job security, such as healthcare and technology,” Dass said.

Professionals may also have altruistic motivations to join frontline industries in the fight against COVID-19, she added. There will thus be more movements in the job market once the economy picks up and new job opportunities arise.

Cost cutting measures have also become necessary and the norm amidst the crisis but this may have affected employees’ confidence in their employers either way.

Dass further said that these cost management measures may result in uncertainty and lack of confidence within the workforce, as employees may feel that the company is not financially stable enough to survive this pandemic.