People are more likely to change jobs when they are younger and better educated, but not necessarily because they are more open to a new experience. This is evident from new scientific research that analyzed and compared the effects of individual characteristics and the economic context on career mobility. The researchers examined what is more important for people to change jobs:the current unemployment rate, their personal openness to new experiences, their age at the time of the job change or their education level.
They found that both individual characteristics and the labor market are factors in career mobility. The results show that people are more likely to change their organizations, industries and professions when they are younger, with the age effect being the strongest.
Contrary to the researchers' initial prediction, people's openness to new experiences did not play a role in wanting to change jobs. Higher levels of education and lower unemployment rate were related to organizational change, but not related to another occupation.
The results also showed that a good education was more important for workers to switch to another sector than a positive situation in the labor market.
