Report: Many New Hires Are ‘Migratory’

Park, a 32-year-old graduate of a prestigious university, is a “migratory worker.”

He joined a large company two years ago, but just six months later he quit the company, saying his annual salary and welfare benefits fell short of his expectations. He landed a new job at an advertising company.

However, he felt frustrated by the “culture of the organization.” Last year, he left the company and is looking for a new job.

Companies are greatly concerned about “Blue Bird Syndrome” of their new recruits. Blue Bird Syndrome came from the title of a novel, The Blue Bird, and means the tendency of newly-hired workers to pursue their ideals and never feel satisfied with their current jobs.

They are also referred to as “hoppers” who change jobs frequently and “half job seekers” who keep looking for a new job while having a job.

According to a survey by Incruit, an on-line placement agency, of 362 companies across the nation on February 1, one out of four companies (26 percent) saw more than half of their new hires quit their companies within one year of employment. Only 3.6 percent of surveyed companies retained all their new hires over the first year.

A personnel department manager of a securities company said, “I am not sure whether the workers of today have iron nerves, or if something is wrong with companies. It is difficult to retain workers who are determined to leave the company in less than a year.”

Lee Kwang-seok, the CEO of Incruit, said, “Job seekers do not give much thought to tasks or characters of companies before applying for a job.”

Companies are devising measures of their own in order to resolve the problem.

Hana Tour, a travel agency, gives stock options to employees who are with the company for over six months.

Daekyo Co. gives overseas travel opportunities of four or five days to employees who stay for more than a year.

LG Electronics formed a task force designed to hire only those who will stay with the company for a long time.

The survey by Incruit found that high retention rates were seen in companies that take care of employees through a variety of efforts such as a mentoring system in which a mentor provides one-to-one consultations, job education, and a family support system.

Kang Seung-hoon, a senior researcher at the LG Economic Research Institute, said, “Young people grew up watching life-long employment disappear, and they want immediate satisfaction and rewards rather than an uncertain future. Quitting a job shortly after being employed does them no good, however.”

Jae-Dong Yu jarrett@donga.com