Are your employees job hunting while at work?

Here are some common signs that your employees are looking for a new job

Are your employees job hunting while at work?

More than three in four employees have admitted that they are actively job hunting while at work.

This is according to a new poll from Ringover, which surveyed 1,000 employees in the United States to uncover the most common job-hunting signs.

It found that 78.8% of respondents had actively job hunted while employed, with 72.5% saying they used a work computer in their job hunt.

Employees are spending 4.6 hours a week actively job hunting, but 27.4% said they spend longer than seven hours per week hunting on company time, according to the report.

Job hunting excuses

Job hunting isn't limited to just looking for job ads - employees also have to take into account preparing and submitting their applications, as well as attending interviews.

According to the report, 78.9% of the respondents try to arrange interviews outside work hours. But another 60.5% admitted to lying to their employer about taking an interview, with the most common excuses being:

  • A family emergency (32.30%) 
  • A medical appointment (30.70%) 
  • Sickness (27.20%) 
  • Spending time with friends and family (19.80%) 
  • Bereavement (19.80%) 
  • Vacation (18.80%) 
  • Family event (11.30%) 

Are your employees currently job hunting?

Based on the employees' responses, Ringover outlined various behaviours that employees exhibit when they are looking for new work.

The most common job-hunting behaviour is when an employee updates their LinkedIn profile, which is practiced by 38.4% of the respondents.

The report also noted that there are various in-office indicators of a job-hunting employee, with the top indicator being showing up late and/or leaving early at work (33.50%).