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What is a Job Jumper

What is a Job Jumper?

Surely you are not familiar with the concept Job Jumper, and if you have heard it you may not know its definition well. Job Jumpers are people who do not expect to stay in a job for long (less than 3 years).

In today’s article we talk about the concept of liquid modernity and we present the basic characteristics of the profiles called Job Jumpers.

Liquid modernity

This change in the perception of work by society was already announced by Zygmunt Bauman in his book Liquid Modernity. According to the author the philosophy of life, values and what is considered ethical and moral has changed radically in recent years, because of the great political and social changes that have taken place since the second half of the twentieth century.

In liquid life society is based on individualism and has become temporary and unstable, lacking solid aspects. Everything we have is changeable and with expiration date, compared to the fixed structures of the past.

This aspect is very visible if we compare the generation of the Baby Boom with the Millenials. The Baby Boomers generation was characterized by its values of stability and work for life; instead, the new generation wants to jump from company to company with the aim of accumulating experiences and growing personally.

Right now, for Millennials there is no so-called “work of our life”. Jobs are changing and the current market needs renovations within companies every few years. In addition, workers are increasingly being asked for more volatility and working capacity in different areas.

For many employers this is not good news. Hiring an employee is a high investment of time and resources until the employee becomes fully productive and independent.

Suppose the employee stays for one to two years, this is too short a period of time to make up for the expenses.

Let’s get to know the Job Jumpers better!

  1. They build relationships very quickly and adapt easily to new environments
  2. They have skills and knowledge that can benefit the company, thanks to having accumulated numerous experiences.
  3. They want to be continually challenged as professionals.
  4. They are usually extroverts with a wide network of contacts.
  5. They want to boost personal growth, and seek fulfillment in their working life rather than financial security.
 

As you can see, the Job Jumpers and the Generation Y are changing the concept of work. So what other solution do companies have to adapt to these changes?

Don’t worry! In our next post ‘How to adapt to Job Jumpers?’ we will give you tips so that your HR team knows how to act in front of this new generation.

Have you renewed your recruitment strategy? Did you know the concept of Job Jumper?