Recession-wary staff prefer sticking to stable jobs

New York: More employees now prefer to stick to a single job that offers them security, amid a perceived dearth of job opportunities. According to the biennial survey by professional services firm Towers Watson, recession has fundamentally altered the way U.S. employees view their work and leaders today, reports PTI.

"As many as eight out of 10 respondents want to settle into a job, with roughly half saying they want to work for a single company their entire career and the rest wanting to work for no more than two to three companies," the survey said.

Employees also appear willing to sacrifice career advancement to maintain what job stability they have been able to hang on to through the recession. "This move toward workplace 'nesting' is no doubt influenced by a perceived dearth of job opportunities, coupled with U.S. employees' lower appetite for the risks inherent in changing jobs," it added.

In a sign of employees' intense focus on job security, when respondents were asked about the factors most important in a preferred work situation, more chose a "secure and stable position" (86 percent) than "substantially higher levels of compensation" (74 percent).

The survey included responses from more than 20,000 employees in 22 markets around the world to gauge their views on the changing nature of the employment deal.