94 per cent of employees in Taiwan considering job change - Survey

About 94 per cent of employees in Taiwan are considering searching for a new job, indicating rigid new work rules as a major reason, China's Xinhua news agency reported citing a survey released by Taiwan's 1111 Job Bank showed on Friday.

Among those who intended to change jobs within three months, 37 per cent 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 per cent 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 that 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 that 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," Lee said.

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

Friday's survey also showed that 31 per cent of respondents considering a job change said that the 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 per cent in May and the authority has raised its economic growth forecast from 1.92 per cent to 2.05 per cent for 2017.

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

-- BERNAMA