Workers who job hop could have an added benefit, Rutgers study finds

Job hoppers can get a bad rap.

But a new study suggests there may be a silver lining to switching workplaces: getting up to speed more quickly.

“Job hopping” is a subjective term, says Scott Bentley, assistant professor at the Rutgers University School of Management and Labor Relations, who co-authored the study.

He defines it as a “higher than average number of moves between companies over one’s career.”

People job hop for different reasons — work-life balance, family or financial reasons, or changing careers altogether.

“For so long we’ve viewed job hoppers in this negative light,” said Bentley, who acknowledged that hiring managers’ concerns about commitment and turnover can be warranted.

But, he said, some job hoppers “might have a benefit here that merits giving them a second look.”

Bentley and his colleague examined data on the job moves of 8,693 hedge fund managers between 2004 and 2019. They measured how well the new hires got up to speed in their work, looking at returns on investments for the funds they managed.

The majority of new hires experienced a dip in their work performance as they first settled into their new position — but those who had changed jobs frequently needed less time to acclimate.

“If you need someone who can adapt and just perform much quicker, and get up to speed months sooner than someone else, job hoppers might merit a second look,” said Bentley. “On the other hand, if you’re looking for someone to invest in for the long term, someone that’s going to be there, job hoppers might not be your preferred hire.”

Starting a new job can be exciting, but it can also be a “very overwhelming experience,” says Bentley.

Workers have to navigate new commutes and new offices — and that’s the easy part.

Then there’s the social aspect of the job, which can be “so much more challenging,” he said. “Even that simple walk to go refill your water bottle is kind of fraught with all of this navigation.”

Social pressure at work can involve small talk with colleagues, or the repeated introductions of a new employee, explaining why they’re there and what they do, he said. Employees have to figure out who their colleagues are, and what employees they might have to interact with to get their jobs done.

As new workers navigate this, they have to assess what social cues from their past job still apply at this new position, or which of them they have to unlearn to succeed in the new workplace.

“We were really interested in: Is there something from people’s experiences that can help them overcome this better than others, or navigate it better than others?” he said.

He and his colleague were curious to learn if people who have changed jobs more often carry skills that others don’t.

“We believe that job hoppers, by having that broader breadth of experience at places, are able to be better at the learning and unlearning,” he said. They could have the “ability to adapt better than others who don’t have those experiences.”

During the pandemic, many people switched jobs to negotiate higher wages, but the job-hopping trend has lost some steam .

“Before, the best approach for earning the largest jump in wages and income was to change jobs, but we’re seeing that differential decrease right now,” Bentley said.

Last year, the Wall Street Journal reported the difference in salaries between those who move to a new job and those who stay with their employer had reached a 10-year low.

Though the trend has shifted from job hopping to job hugging — or holding onto a job — “there’s still benefits that people can bring to the workplace from job hopping,” said Bentley.