Not everyone wants to job-hop: Why some workers are staying put

[SINGAPORE] A post about Target’s chief executive officer, Michael Fiddelke, caught my eye recently. 

It detailed his magnificent climb within the company  – from a finance intern in 2003 all the way to his current position as the US retailer’s head since February this year. 

In total, that makes for a whopping 22 years and 11 months in the same company. 

In today’s employment market where job-hopping has become the norm, Fiddelke’s career path may seem a little absurd. 

Regularly switching jobs is often seen as a way to secure faster and bigger pay rises, broaden experiences, and potentially put your career on the fast track. 

As someone in her first full-time role, I admit that job-hopping has crossed my mind too. 

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Growing up, I watched my parents spend more than a decade in their first jobs. The idea of doing the same thing for the rest of my life seemed a little nightmarish to me. 

So, I asked other young adults about whether they intend to job-hop. 

Surprisingly, some tell me that they would rather stay in the same company for as long as they can.

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Why some choose to stay

Mark (not his real name), 33, has spent six years working as a software engineer in a public-sector firm. He declines to disclose his full name to avoid being identified by his employer. 

While he could earn more elsewhere, Mark says he has no plans to switch jobs any time soon. A big reason is the nature of the work. 

“Serving the general public is something that aligns with me,” he says. “It’s hard to find a company that does this sort of work without profit, at the scale that we do.” 

His company also sponsors master’s programmes for employees who perform well and remain with the organisation for at least three years.

Mark had always wanted to pursue a master’s degree, so the prospect of a scholarship gave him more reason to stay on. He eventually received the scholarship. 

Likewise, Gabriel Lim also intends to stay at his company for the long term. 

Unlike some of his peers in their first full-time jobs and already eyeing a move, the 26-year-old has no plans to change jobs soon.

As a fresh graduate new to the communications industry, Lim’s priority is to build a strong foundation at his workplace by gaining experience and honing specialised skill sets. 

Staying vs hopping

Adele Png, head of talent acquisition and employee experience at Prudential Singapore, says that workers who change employers often enjoy a pay boost in the short term. 

“(Job-hopping) can also provide exposure to different industries, operating models and business environments,” she adds. 

Shub Faujdar, CEO and chief career coach at JobS-ME, says the “lifelong” job is also becoming rare in light of more frequent layoffs and restructuring. 

But that’s not to say that staying put in a company is the wrong career move. Staying can offer opportunities to build deeper expertise and earn the trust required to take on higher-level responsibilities. 

For Mark, that trust is one of the rewards reaped from his six years (and counting) with the company. 

“People are more familiar with you, bosses see your efforts and know that you can do your work,” he says. “They tend to knock on your door and ask if you want to be a part of projects… It’s great to have that trust and autonomy.” 

Over the course of her career in human resources, Png has also seen many people build successful careers without changing employers frequently. 

What stands out, she says, is their ability to take initiative and constantly develop themselves while staying in the same company. 

How to stay competitive

“Don’t repeat the same year over and over,” Faujdar says. 

She advises workers to keep track of their learning. Staying is a viable strategy only if you are still growing, she notes. 

For Mark, staying competitive means staying up to date with what is expected of those in similar roles in other companies. 

He regularly browses LinkedIn job descriptions for software engineering positions to keep track of skills and programming tools that other employers seek. 

Workers can also look for fresh experiences within their organisations through internal mobility, says Png. This could help expose an employee to new challenges without leaving the organisation. 

Fiddelke’s career at Target reflects that strategy. Before becoming CEO, he held leadership roles across finance, operations and merchandising – all of which probably prepared him for his high-level position today. 

Staying as a strategy

I asked my father, who stayed in his first job as an engineer at a power distribution company for 15 years, what he thought of more young workers job-hopping today. 

He finds it eye-opening to see young workers quit when they feel a role isn’t right for them. It’s a far cry from the workforce he entered as a young graduate, when loyalty to a single company was prized. 

He had no qualms about staying with the same organisation for more than a decade. For one, it was a reputable company that offered competitive pay.

Plus, it offered a job-rotation programme which allowed him to dip his toes in different departments, such as operations and sales. That exposure helped him move into his second job in sales. 

Speaking to my father and other young workers made me realise that staying doesn’t necessarily mean standing still. 

What matters more is having a clear reason for staying, whether that’s meaningful work, room to grow, or even satisfactory pay. 

While working in his current organisation, Mark received an external offer with the potential for a significant pay rise. 

Although it was tempting, he ultimately rejected it because he felt his current work aligned more closely with his values. 

“I think the most important thing to me is finding meaning and purpose in what I do,” he says. “Obviously, that may not float (some people’s boats), since pay can be a priority. 

“But I think if you’re always choosing for pay, your life will be very miserable.”