What encourages and impedes job mobility?

Abstract

This paper studies what impedes and encourages job mobility, focusing on external job mobility on an individual level. The aims of the study were mainly to identify factors which make a person stay in the same job for a number of years, what influences a person to leave his/her job and to identify the characteristics of a 'job stayer' and 'job mover'. The research was conducted with a sample of twelve participants, half of which were persons registering on the Part three register of the Employment and Training Corporation and the other half were persons who have been in the same employment for more than ten years. The technique used was a semi-structured interview where we mainly used a topic guide, which consisted of relevant themes. Themes discussed included the respondent's relationship with their bosses and colleagues; opportunity for career advancement and training; working conditions and environment; job security; commitment to the company; autonomy at the workplace and appreciation of one's work. We also discussed expectations of the new job with the respondents that were seeking another employment. From our research population, it resulted that only a small minority of the respondents were interested in job mobility for career advancement prospects. When on the other hand, we analysed job tenure within the same organisation, positive results were found including job satisfaction and commitment.