In less than a year, around 52% of Nigerian professionals plan to quit their jobs and relocate abroad.
This information may be found in a recent study by Phillips Consulting titled "The Talent Management Report," which was presented in Lagos during the Nigerian Human Resources Directors Network's quarterly meeting under the title "A New World Order: Shifting Paradigms in Addressing the Brain Drain."
In a report outlining the background of the situation, it was stated that while Nigerian businesses face many difficulties in the post-pandemic era, including market uncertainty, inflation, the acceleration of digitalization, changes in consumer behavior, higher operational costs, and complexity, today's most urgent problems are employee retention and preventing brain drain.
According to the report, approximately 50% of workers in the industries of banking & insurance, professional services, education, healthcare, and IT will be among the most negatively affected.
The report stated: “The rising cost of living is impacting employees’ finances and workplace productivity. Before the Ukraine crisis, the Nigerian economy faced multiple challenges, including unemployment, a weak currency, and insecurity. The situation has exacerbated the high cost of living and affected employees’ finances and purchasing power.
“Research findings show that 90% of Nigerians who have faced an increased cost of living are cutting their spending on essential and non-essential items. “This has resulted in financial stress, decreased purchasing power, lower job satisfaction, and higher job mobility and migration rates.
“Consequently, employees now channel their efforts toward increasing their revenue streams, improving economic stability, and enhancing their standard of living.
“To achieve these objectives, many are creating a ‘side hustle,’ finding better-paying jobs, or relocating abroad. As a result, the attrition rate across key sectors has increased significantly.
“As labour shortages continue to rise globally, there is intense competition for talent, especially in low-to-middle-skilled occupations”.
Millennials and Gen Z make up 88% of those who intend to quit their jobs within a year, according to Phillips Consulting.
They stated: “This demographic shift could lead to a significant loss of skilled workers, which may negatively affect critical industries and the economy. Moreover, this demographic includes young professionals with valuable skills and extensive education, making them highly desirable in the global job market.
