Workers See More Opportunity Staying Put

The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey of Employed Adults shows that 51% believe they will have a better opportunity for career advancement if they stay with their current company. Thirty-two percent (32%) think going to work somewhere else is a better option for advancement, while another 17% are undecided. 

While the number who prefers looking somewhere else to advance their career is little changed from August, the number who feels the opposite is up six points since that time and is the highest level measured in over a year, according to Rasmussen.  

Adding to this optimism is the fact that 73% of working adults say that when they do leave their current job, it will be their choice to do so – the highest level reached in over a year, while only 8% believe it will be their employer’s choice for them to leave. Eighteen percent (18%) are not sure.

Some Still Looking

That said, more than one-in-five (21%) of working Americans now report they are looking for a job outside their current company, though that is down six points from August.  Just 27% believe their next job will be better than their current one, the lowest result measured since last April. Twenty-two percent (22%) don’t think their next job will be better, but 27% more plan on retiring after their current one. Another 25% are not sure if their next job will be better or not.

Eleven percent (11%) now say they plan to stay at their current job for less than one year, doubling the result found in August. Twelve percent (12%) say they will most likely remain at their current employer for one to five years, but 43% say they will be there for more than five years.

Overall, most working adults (72%) say they’ve been working at their current employer for more than five years, up seven points over the past two months. Twenty-eight percent (28%) of Americans have been at their current job from one to four years, while 10% have been there a year or less.  

Gender, Income Gaps 

Men are a bit more likely than women to believe staying at their current job is the best option. However, men are also more likely to be looking for a job outside their current company. Separate polling finds that male and female workers continue to disagree over whether they earn equal pay for equal work.  

According to the report, those workers who make $20,000 to $40,000 a year are less likely than those in other income brackets to believe staying at their current job will give them the best opportunity for advancement.  

The survey of 465 Employed Adults was conducted on October 31-November 1, 2010 by Rasmussen Reports.