Following the Great Resignation, the job market is hot. Should workers constantly keep a wandering eye for their next opportunity, even if they’re not necessarily itching to leave?

n the past six months,

Beth

has increased her salary by nearly £10,000. She has gradually negotiated her way from full-time office hours to a permanent remote-working contract. Her day-to-day opportunities have swelled. Compared to the start of the year, she has struck a better

work

-life balance. And she’s done it with practically zero haggling or demands.

Instead

, her career upgrade has been achieved by swiftly changing

jobs

. “Whenever I’ve felt as though the

role

hasn’t been exactly as promised, I’ve looked for the

next

opportunity

,” explains

Beth

. “If

it’s

something that’s closer to my ideal

work

set-up, a company that looks appealing,

then

I apply.” Based in Yorkshire, UK,

Beth

is soon

to begin

her

third

account-manager

role

this

year. She says she’s only been able to

finally

command a fair wage and flexible working by adopting

this

job

-seeking mindset. “Unfortunately, my experience is that I’ll only receive a pay rise if I go to my boss with another

job

offer,” adds

Beth

. “My end goal has always been remote working. It felt unachievable – until I found my new

role

.” Since the start of the pandemic, swathes of

workers

across industries have left their

jobs

– and millions more are contemplating quitting, too.

It’s

helping to cause a worldwide hiring crisis.

However

,

it’s

not just recent

vacancies

companies are struggling to fill. As many global economies are growing, businesses are struggling to keep up as they expand. The demand for talent is,

therefore

, skyrocketing.

It’s

created a sellers’ market:

workers

have more leverage than ever, and many can afford to cherry pick a

role

that aligns more with their values and desires. Rather than begin searching for a new position when they’re unhappy or burned out – typically years into a

role

– some

workers

are opting to seek a better

opportunity

from day one.

This

mindset is a kind of ‘Great Flirtation’ with new

jobs

: a constantly wandering eye to other openings, regardless of how long a worker has been in a

role

, and how content they are in their current

job

. In a labour market that favours

workers

, is constantly flirting with other openings the right approach to help

workers

stay happy, get into better positions – or even achieve more in their career? ‘Irrational, aimless wandering’ For decades, the prevailing narrative has been to stay in a

role

for as long as possible, build résumé clout and make a lasting contribution to an organisation. Prematurely switching

roles

was stigmatised as ‘

job

hopping’ – not just by bosses, but

also

wider society. In 1974, American industrial psychologist Edwin Ghiselli likened it to vagrancy, coining the term ‘Hobo Syndrome’ to describe

workers

who frequently changed

roles

. His approach essentially re-framed the complexities of frequent quitting to irrational, aimless wandering – driven by internal impulses absent from “organised or logical thought”.

Workers

can take advantage of the current labour shortage and secure their dream

role

– Simon

Wingate

In

this

framework, employers held power over employees, which kept them in their

roles

. “The idea was if the employer takes care of you, you do the same and stick with them,” explains Mark Bolino, director of management and international business at the University of Oklahoma, US. The global recession of the 1980s shook loose some of

this

thinking. As companies had to cut costs, they laid off

workers

, says Bolino, whose research has focused on employees’ dedication to their organisations and why they quit.

Instead

of employers expecting

workers

to stay in

roles

indefinitely, he says “the relationship

subsequently

became more transactional: ‘if we have layoffs, we have them. If you find a better

job

opportunity

, we understand’.” Rather than climbing a career ladder with one company,

then

, the onus fell to the employee to forge their own path. Yet, ‘sticking’ at a

job

for the long-term was ingrained. According to data from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, American

workers

’ median

job

tenure steadily rose from 3.5 years in the 1980s to 4.4 years in the 2000s, before slightly dipping at the end of the past decade. Looking for the

next

opportunity

has, typically, been a reactive process. Often,

it’s

to the employee’s detriment: waiting until frustration, a lack of progression or workplace conflict kicks in before bailing. But the pandemic seems to have changed

this

thinking; as

workers

report long stretches of stress and introspection, many are re-evaluating their lives and careers – and are more open to making moves.

Workers

have begun looking for

jobs

that better match the

work

set-ups they want – particularly the option for remote- and flexible

work

. “In August, we found that the

number

of applications for

jobs

with remote working outpaced the

number

of

vacancies

offering a hybrid

work

set-up,” says Simon

Wingate

, managing director at UK recruitment firm Reed.

However

,

job

adverts have continued in their droves.

Wingate

says 120,000

vacancies

were added to Reed in the

first

10 days of November, meaning

it’s

on track to have its highest

number

of monthly postings since 2008. A higher

number

of

vacancies

, coupled with an increase in employers offering better options to fill those

roles

, has created an embarrassment of riches for new

job

options. “

Workers

can take advantage of the current labour shortage and secure their dream

role

,” adds

Wingate

.

Furthermore

, employees can seek

job

opportunities, even if they’re not necessarily itching to leave their company immediately, and leverage the hot

job

market to their advantage.

This

is particularly the case as companies create remote-

first

roles

, opening access to thousands of new

roles

for millions of

workers

once geographically excluded. “The power is currently in the workforce’s hands, meaning they can make more demands – including a higher wage, more perks and flexible working arrangements,” says

Wingate

.