A survey has revealed that many jobseekers trawl employment websites whilst sitting in the office at their present job. The survey, by a jobs board, polled 2000 people; more than a quarter stated that they jeopardised a current job to search for a new one. Half of the respondents keep a CV which they can update stored on their computer at work, and 49% actively seek other employment. 40% suspect that their boss knows what they're doing online; 12% were actually caught out applying for something else.
Since many graduates use their first job as a platform into something preferred and more lucrative, these figures must take into account the fact that graduates have a particularly nomadic first few years in employment. They are expected to move on quickly. On the other hand, the devising of a more stimulating graduate package - one that suits the graduate and can perhaps hold their interest and loyalty for longer - might be something that employers could take from these results. The online community - websites offering forms and recruitment agencies begging you to upload a CV - has facilitated the job search and meant that these websites have acquired the illicit status of checking your Facebook or Twitter whilst in the office.
Of course, it is rather puritanical to condemn an employee who looks elsewhere. Any outraged employers suggest that the Thought Police is active in boardrooms across the UK. If the employee is under contract, then he or she will not be able to leave until that contract expires, but seeking employment elsewhere, rather than within the organisation is admissible. Again, employers should look to the job and its experience for the answers as to why employees might leave in droves, rather than condemning the individual.
Jobseeking at work is indiscreet and unprofessional - indeed, you might enjoy your job more if you actually did it rather than sought an escape route - but it is not a totem of immorality, and it must be conceded that the strongest vantage point from which to find a job is while you already have one. A current job confirms that you are employable and worthy of interview and appointment. The internet opens the world, and makes jobseeking easy; These findings might have more to do with the accessibility of employers online rather than signifying widespread dissatisfaction. By opening the world, the internet creates a sense of entitlement to that world: no wonder employees are restless. They find a job that pays ??40k when they're sitting on ??32k; and since they can open the link to the application page, they feel that the job too is within their grasp. Employers must look to the changing vista of the internet age and to their own job packages before condemning employees outright.
Phoebe, GRB Journalist
