42% of Workers Actively Considering Quitting Their Jobs, Citing Poor Work-Life Balance, Low Pay, and Toxic Company Culture

FlexJobs survey delivers insight into workers’ attitudes around quitting, career changes, and layoffs.

Boulder, CO, June 5, 2023—According to FlexJobs’ 2023 Spring Work Insights Survey of over 2,600 people currently employed, 42 percent of workers are actively considering quitting their jobs right now. Another 20 percent reported that they had recently quit their job, meaning that nearly two-thirds (62 percent) of employed workers have recently quit or actively want to quit their jobs.

The top 10 reasons workers specified for wanting to quit:

1. Poor work-life balance (29%)
2. Low or unfair pay (28%)
3. Toxic company culture (27%)
4. Felt disrespected/undervalued (26%)
5. Limited advancement opportunities (25%)
6. Too stressful (25%)
7. Didn’t allow (enough) remote work (23%)
8. Bad boss (22%)
9. Company values and personal values were misaligned (21%)
10. Inflexible work hours (21%)

Additional findings from FlexJobs’ survey, which ran May 3, 2023, to May 21, 2023 covered attitudes around career change (such as moving from a career in customer service to a career in marketing) and activity/concerns around layoffs.

Career Change:

58 percent of workers are actively trying to make a career change. Another quarter (25 percent) reported that they had already attempted to make a career change. Only 17 percent of workers said they have not been/are not interested in making a career change.

The top reasons specified for being interested in making a career change were:

1. Remote work options (50%)
2. Higher pay (48%)
3. Better work-life balance (46%)
4. More meaning or fulfillment (40%)
5. Expanding their skillset (30%)
6. Lack of advancement opportunities in the current career (28%)
7. Approaching retirement, looking for a “second act” (16%)
8. Pursuing a passion or hobby (16%)
9. Current career has never been a good fit (13%)
10. Turning a side hustle into a full-time position (12%)

“It’s not surprising at all to me that among the top factors for people wanting to quit their jobs or change careers is seeking better work-life balance and wanting remote work options,” said Sara Sutton, Founder and CEO of FlexJobs. “This theme has been strong among job seekers for many years and post-pandemic, it has only strengthened,” Sutton concluded.

Layoffs: 

Nearly 4 in 10 workers (39%) are currently worried about being laid-off.

• 27% are a little worried about being laid off
• 12% are extremely worried about being laid off
• The remaining 61% are not worried about it

When asked if they had ever been laid off:

• 11% had been laid off in the last six months
• 41% had been laid off prior to November 2022
• 48% had never been laid off

Nearly half (49%) of people who have been laid off were told through a live conversation with an HR representative or manager at the company. Other top methods of communicating the layoff:

• Through a company Zoom or video platform call (15%)
• Through a mass email from the company (13%)
• Through a digital communications tool like Slack or text (9%

*FlexJobs created the survey, which was promoted to general audiences and its subscribers/members primarily through social media and newsletters. FlexJobs used a multiple choice and multi-select question format via SurveyMonkey’s online platform. The survey ran from May 3, 2023, to May 21, 2023.