For anyone looking for signs of a continued “Great Resignation,” here’s your smoking gun: 26% of workers said it’s likely they’ll change jobs within the next year, according to the Global Workforce Hopes and Fears Survey from PwC, which maps the “hopes and fears” of almost 54,000 workers in 46 countries and territories. That figure is up from 19% last year.
But there’s another, slightly less obvious finding from the survey that provides an equally useful snapshot of how workers feel about their financial chances right now. Workers who “struggle to pay the bills” each month were among the most likely to switch jobs — and around the world, employees “are increasingly feeling cash-strapped.”
Only 38% of the global workforce reported having “money left over at the end of the month,” down from 47% last year. Shrinking wallets have forced many workers to take multiple jobs; 69% of those with multiple jobs did so because they needed more cash, according to the survey.
The cash-strapped workforce is also asking for more money, according to PwC. The percentage of workers who plan to ask for a raise climbed to 42% from 35% last year. And those figures are even higher for workers who are financially struggling: 46% planned to ask for a raise.
This part of the workforce is also less likely to be prepared for industry changes and the rise of new technology, like artificial intelligence, according to the survey. Only 50% of workers who can't pay the bills are likely to try to develop new skill sets, versus 62% of those who are more financially comfortable.
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“The global workforce is divided into two—those with valuable skills who are well set to keep learning, and those without,” Bob Moritz, PwC global chair, said in a statement tied to the survey. “We found that often, those without the skills are less financially secure and less able to access training in the skills of the future.”
And there’s also a difference in how these two categories of workers view looming disruptions, like AI. Over one-third of workers who are financially thriving think AI will “improve their productivity,” while only 24 percent of financially struggling workers feel the same. Workers who are “doing better financially” are also more likely to believe “AI will create new job opportunities,” and “less likely to think” it’ll negatively change the nature of their work.
“In a world where CEOs know they need to transform their businesses to succeed, they need to combine the benefits of technology with a plan to unlock the talents of all workers,” Moritz added. “It is in no one’s interest for businesses to chase the same group of skilled workers while the rest of society gets left behind.”