Two new pieces of research have shed light on the secret habits of jobseekers – and reveal they are likely to be looking for a new job while supposedly hard at work in their current role.
Analysis of mobile data from Monster.co.uk has found that 49% of job searches take place between 9am-5pm – which is the traditional hours someone is usually at work. And Wednesday, known not-so-affectionally as ‘hump day’ due to it feeling like a rough hill to climb up to, is candidates favourite to search for a new role.
A separate report from the CIPD suggests that almost half (49%) of employees aren’t in the right job, as they are too under- or over-skilled for the position they hold. The poll found that being over-skilled can have a number of negative consequences on employees.
Just 53% of over-skilled workers said they are satisfied with their jobs compared to 74% of people whose skills are well-suited to their role.
Furthermore, in the long run, being over-skilled can hurt people’s chances of climbing up the career ladder. Just 22% of workers who say they are over-skilled have been promoted to a higher position in their current organisation compared with almost a third (31%) of workers in well-matched roles.
Furthermore, more than a quarter of over-skilled workers earn less than £20,000 a year compared with just 15% of those whose say their skills are well matched to their jobs.
This could mean, then, that a change of position would be the best way for these workers to make the most of their abilities.
Lizzie Crowley, Skills Adviser at the CIPD, explained that how skills are used in the workplace has important economic and social implications, and is a key factor in tackling the UK’s productivity crisis.
“There needs to be a much greater emphasis on how well existing skills and capabilities of individuals are harnessed and developed at work, through better people management practices and access to development opportunities,” she said.
“For too long, skills policy in the UK has been fixated on increasing the supply of skills coming into the labour market. This has failed as an approach."
“To address stagnant productivity and stimulate the economy, the industrial strategy must prioritise better use of existing skills, built on the foundation of better quality jobs and business models that deliver high-value goods and service. Without real and impactful change to the UK’s skills strategy, the UK’s productivity puzzle will prove impossible to solve.”
