Survey finds barely 6% of Taiwanese will stay in present jobs

TAIPEI, 15 July 2017: 

About 94% of employees in Taiwan are considering searching for a new job – indicating rigid new work rules as a major reason, a survey released by Taiwan’s 1111 Job Bank showed yesterday.

Among those who intended to change jobs within three months, 37% said their reason for wanting to change jobs was the result of new work rules introduced in December, according to the survey.

A total of 20.1% of interviewees said their salary had fallen and welfare worsened due to the new rules, according to the poll.

Some of those dissatisfied with the new work rules said they were concerned about their prospects since the new regulations caused higher operation costs, while others were unhappy their responsibilities or work schedules had changed due to the new rules.

Under the new regulations, the maximum number of work hours is 40 hours per week, with one mandatory day off and one flexible rest day. Employers are required to pay overtime for work carried out on the flexible day off.

Daniel Lee, vice president of 1111 Job Bank, said many employers and employees have complained the rigid work rules leave less leeway for more flexible work schedules.

“The overtime pay is quite high, so some employers prefer to hire dispatch workers to cut costs, whereas employees on the payroll receive lower wages than before since their work hours are reduced.

“Those who cannot put up with the loss want to make a change. This is a main reason for the job-hopping boom.”

A poll released by the job bank on July 5 showed 56% of the employees in Taiwan feel the new rules have affected their lives and more than 78% said the rules have resulted in growing tension between them and their employers, said Lee.

Yesterday’s survey also showed 31% of respondents considering a job change said economic recovery on the island made them confident about looking for a better job.

Taiwan’s unemployment rate dropped to a two-year low to 3.66% in May and the authority has raised its economic growth forecast from 1.92-2.05% for 2017.

Meanwhile, the survey showed most employees in Taiwan are frequent job-hoppers, with 85.3% of respondents saying they had moved to another job within three months after they started a job and 24.5% of them even saying they had quit a job on the same day they started it.

– Bernama

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