Randstad in March 2019 released the first quarter 2019 edition of its Workmonitor report.

Workmonitor’s Mobility Index, which tracks employee confidence and captures the likelihood of an employee changing jobs within the next six months, provides a comprehensive understanding of sentiments and trends in the job market. Besides mobility, the survey addresses employee satisfaction and personal motivation as well as a rotating set of themed questions.

The report for Q1 2019 indicates two trends related to global mobility:

The global mobility index remained flat compared to last quarter

Respondents answered the two-part question: ‘Do you think you will be doing the same or comparable work for a different employer within the next 6 months?’ and ‘Do you think you will be doing different work for a different employer within the next 6 months?’ Their answers show that over the last year,

• Mobility is up by +6 in Germany, + 4 in the UK and France, and +1 in Switzerland.
• Belgium’s mobility index rose by +3, while Luxembourg dropped by -5. There was no perceptible shift in The Netherlands.
• North America shows a rise of +1 for Mexico and a drop of -3 in the US with no shift in Canada.
• Mobility is up in South America with Chile at +6, and Brazil and Argentina at +4.
• Australia and New Zealand saw drops in mobility with -2 and -3 respectively.
• China saw a rise of +7, while Japan rose +3. Singapore was down by -2, Hong Kong and Malaysia -4, and India showed no change in mobility.
• There was no shift in Sweden, while Denmark dropped -3 and Norway -2.
• Poland saw a +8 shift in mobility, while Hungary was up by +7, and Romania up by +3. The Czech Republic saw a drop in mobility of -2.
• Italy was up by +6, Portugal +4, Spain and Turkey by +3, and Greece’s mobility fell by -2.

Actual job change shows up trend

In answer to the question: ‘Have you changed jobs in the past six months? If you have started working in your first job during the past six months, this is not a change of employment[sic]/employer; please fill in ‘no’.’, the answers show:

• The rate of job change was highest in India and the lowest in Luxembourg.
• The appetite for job change is also highest in India, but lowest in Poland.
• Job satisfaction is highest in India, and lowest in Japan.

The Randstad Workmonitor was launched in the Netherlands in 2003, then in Germany, and covers 34 countries around the world. The study encompasses Europe, Asia-Pacific and the Americas. The Randstad Workmonitor is published four times a year, making both local and global trends in mobility visible over time.

The Workmonitor study is conducted online among employees aged 18-65, working a minimum of 24 hours a week in a paid job (not self-employed). The first survey of 2019 was conducted from January 30 until February 15 in 34 countries throughout Europe, North and South America, and the Asia-Pacific region. The minimum sample size is 400 interviews per country.