Case of itchy feet

The hard-nosed boss has a new rival - the hard-nosed employee.

A new breed of workers ruthlessly pursue their own career to such an extent that one in three starts looking for a better job on the first day of a new one.

A survey by a firm of career consultants reveals that young people have embraced new flexible working patterns to use and abuse their bosses on the way to the top.

It shows more than a third of employees, 36 per cent, start job hunting on their first day of work and two-thirds, 69 per cent, are always on the lookout for a better job.

Four out of 10 workers expect to have quit their present job within a year, 69 per cent keep their CVs polished in case they have to move fast and 48 per cent say their loyalty lies with their careers, not their bosses.

"Given the findings it is easy to understand why employees would want to move," says Bill McCarthy, managing director of Penna Sanders and Sidney, who commissioned the survey, called Itchy Feet. "Employers do not seem to be delivering what their employees really want - recognition and opportunities to develop their careers."

The report, which questioned more than 1000 people in manual, managerial, health and retail work, also reveals that older people are losing out to the new young Turks.

Fewer older employees, categorised as over 40, keep an eye on the job market and most are likely to stay in their jobs for two years before looking for a new one.

Older employees are also much more likely to be loyal to their companies than themselves, and less likely to keep their CV up to date. McCarthy advises them to take a leaf out of their younger rivals' book. "Perhaps older employees assume they are past it," he says. "But with their wealth of experience older workers are increasingly valuable assets.

"By emulating the example of younger employees they can take advantage of their growing value."

- INDEPENDENT