One in four Brits New Year’s resolutions include changing job or career

The majority of Britons are looking to make a change this New Year, with more exercise, eating better/dieting and giving up smoking coming out as the top resolutions for 2019. What’s more, 24% of those looking to make a resolution want to change jobs, with a further 16% wanting to go for a promotion within the company they already work for.

The study was undertaken by the team at www.MyJobQuote.co.uk, who polled 2,615 people over the age of 18. All respondents revealed that they were currently in full time employment.

Initially, all respondents were asked if they had any New Year’s resolutions for 2019 or were planning to make any if they hadn’t already, to which 71% revealed that ‘yes’ they did, with respondents admitting that ‘they help to keep me on track’ (42%) and ‘they give me something to work towards/look forward to’ (33%) as the top reasons they like to set at least one. The remaining 29% said they would make no resolutions this year, citing ‘I never stick to them’ (50%) and ‘you don’t need a resolution to do better’ (31%) as the top reasons why.

When asked what their New Year’s Resolution was pertaining (and allowed to choose more than one option), the top five most common resolutions were found to be:

1. Exercise more – 41%
2. Eat better / go on a diet – 32%
3. Give up smoking – 28%
4. Find a new job/change profession – 24%
5. Go vegetarian/vegan – 21%

A further 16% revealed that they were going to try for a promotion in their current job as part of their New Year’s resolution.

Focusing on those that were looking to change company or profession, these respondents were asked for the reason why they wanted to do so. The top answers were found to be ‘I don’t enjoy my current job’ (26%), ‘I can earn more money elsewhere’ (20%) and ‘I want to be my own boss’ (16%).

Respondents were then asked to disclose their profession in the survey, and the most common sectors for those that were looking to change their job in the New Year were ‘accounting, banking and finance’ (16%), ‘retail’ (14%) and ‘hospitality’ (13%). Relevant participants were also asked which profession they were hoping to go into, if they wanted a change, and the most common results were ‘public services’ (17%), ‘teaching’ (12%) and ‘take up a trade’ (11%).

Of those looking to change their job in the New Year, 21% revealed that they were planning to quit in January, whilst 13% said that they had already handed in their notice.

All respondents with New Year’s Resolutions were asked if they thought that they would stick to their resolutions, to which less than half (43%) believed that they would, with the majority (57%) admitting that they expect to fail. When asked how long they thought they’d go before failing at their resolutions, the average length of time Britons gave themselves was found to be 57 days.

Commenting on the results of the study, Lisa Evans, spokesperson for www.MyJobQuote.co.uk, said the following:

“The New Year represents an ideal opportunity for those looking to try something new or give something up, giving them a real goal to aim towards. It’s also therefore a natural time to be looking for a new job, and it’s unsurprising many are looking to take up a trade – being your own boss is a dream for many. Don’t’ be hasty though; don’t quit your day job if you don’t’ have another secured or you already have work lined up if you’re planning to go self-employed. You still want to have some level of income each month in order to pay the bills”