Why Millennials Job Hop: Navigating Pay, Culture, and Growth
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.21512/bbr.v16i2.12616Keywords:
millennial, job hopping, culture, compensation, career development, pay, career growthAbstract
The phenomenon of job hopping, predominantly observed among millennials, has been a subject of interest. The research aimed to determine what factors influence job-hopping behavior, which was widespread among millennials, and how they influenced it. Three antecedents were analyzed, including organizational culture, perceived compensation conditions, and the availability of career development opportunities. The research used a quantitative method, where a questionnaire was used to gather data. There were 329 millennial respondents gathered, and Partial Least Squares-Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) was used to analyze the data. The results show that compensation has a positive influence, while work culture and career development negatively influence job-hopping behavior. It suggests that while higher compensation increases job-hopping, improving work culture and career development can decrease it. In this case, compensation is no longer the main factor for millennial employees to stay in their jobs or current organizations. The result also concludes that organizations should provide more consideration in developing an aligned culture with millennials’ values and creating a more transparent, structured, and accessible career development plan. The research contributes to the body of knowledge on millennials’ job-hacking behavior research by integrating the organizational practices factor towards individual behavior, particularly the millennial workforce. The research differs from previous research, which usually focuses on individual factors such as job satisfaction and exhaustion. The research has several limitations, including the number of respondents and geographical coverage. Hence, a larger sample and expanded geographical survey coverage are needed to enhance the potentiality of generalization of the research result.
References
Adi, P. R. P., & Irawati, K. R. (2019). Perbedaan keterikatan kerja berdasarkan generasi kerja karyawan pada perusahaan berkonsep THK ditinjau dari etos kerja. Jurnal Psikologi Udayana, 6(1), 46–57.
Alisa, J., Rudiana, D., & Harison, E. D. (2022). Fenomena job hopping dalam perspektif generasi milenial di era pandemi COVID-19. In Prosiding Seminar Nasional & Call for Paper Fakultas Ekonomi Universitas Tidar (Vol. 1, pp. 281–287). Program Studi Ekonomi Pembangunan Fakultas Ekonomi Universitas Tidar.
Anggara, P., Suryawati, C., & Agushybana, F. (2020). Keinginan pindah kerja (turnover intention) pada tenaga kesehatan di Rumah Sakit Umum SM Banyumas Propinsi Jawa Tengah. Jurnal Manajemen Kesehatan Indonesia, 8(3), 153–160. https://doi.org/10.14710/jmki.8.3.2020.153-160
Azmy, A., & Mauludi, S. (2024). The role of authentic leadership and organizational commitment to reduce turnover intention in digital company. Binus Business Review, 15(2), 119–131. https://doi.org/10.21512/bbr.v15i2.10502
Bagozzi, R. P., & Yi, Y. (1988). On the evaluation of structural equation models. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 16, 74–94. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02723327
Bibi, P., Pangil, F., Johari, J., & Ahmad, A. (2017). The impact of compensation and promotional opportunities on employee retention in academic institutions: The moderating role of work environment. International Journal of Economic Perspectives, 11(1), 378–391.
Chillakuri, B., & Mogili, R. (2018). Managing millennials in the digital era: Building a sustainable culture. Human Resource Management International Digest, 26(3), 7–10. https://doi.org/10.1108/HRMID-11-2017-0168
Dessler, G. (2017). Human resources management (15th ed.). Pearson Education.
Devi, S., Vasudevan, A., Sagadavan, R., & Shiney. (2023). Job hopping behavior in the upstream sector of oil and gas industry in Malaysia. International Journal of Professional Business Review, 8(10), 1–15. https://doi.org/10.26668/businessreview/2023.v8i10.725
Dewi, R. S., & Nurhayati, M. (2021). The effect of career development on turnover intention with job satisfaction and organizational commitment as mediators, study at PT Control Systems Arena Para Nusa. European Journal of Business & Management Research, 6(4), 11–18. https://doi.org/10.24018/ejbmr.2021.6.4.918
Diputra, I. W. G. Y., & Suwandana, I. G. M. (2022). The effect of work culture, work environment, and leadership style on employee job satisfaction. European Journal of Business & Management Research, 7(3), 43–47. https://doi.org/10.24018/ejbmr.2022.7.3.1395
Dwidienawati, D., Jatmiko, L. A., Dewanti, R. N., & Gandasari, D. (2024). Organization culture and employee experience: Do they affect job satisfaction and turnover intention? WSEAS Transactions on Business and Economics, 21, 202–211. https://doi.org/10.37394/23207.2024.21.18
Groysberg, B., Healy, P. M., & Lin, E. (2021). Job-hopping toward equity: Changing employers can help narrow the gender gap in executive compensation. MIT Sloan Management Review, 63(1).
Hair, J. F., Hult, T., Ringle, C. M., & Sarstedt, M. (2021). A primer on Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) (3rd ed.). SAGE Publications, Inc.
Hair, J. F., Risher, J. J., Sarstedt, M., & Ringle, C. M. (2019). When to use and how to report the results of PLS-SEM. European Business Review, 31(1), 2–24. https://doi.org/10.1108/EBR-11-2018-0203
Hall, A. A., Morgan, B., & Redelinghuys, K. (2022). The relationship between job-hopping motives and congruence. SA Journal of Industrial Psychology, 48. https://doi.org/10.4102/sajip.v48i0.1938
Handayani, N. P., & Herwany, A. (2019). Linking job expectation, career perception, intention to stay: Evidence from Generation Y. HOLISTICA – Journal of Business and Public Administration, 10(2), 105–114. https://doi.org/10.2478/hjbpa-2019-0019
Hanina, T., Murdianto, M. T., Resvitasari, F., & Wina, P. (2022, April 1). [Infografis] fenomena job hopping kaum millennials, masih ada stigma ? IDN Times. https://www.idntimes.com/life/career/tyas-hanina-1/fenomena-job-hopping-bagi-kaum-millennials?page=all
Harlianto, J., & Rudi, R. (2021). Factors influencing the employee retention of millennial generation (Case study: XYZ foundation). International Journal of Management (IJM), 12(1), 1115–1126.
Hee, O. C., & Rhung, L. X. (2019). Motivation and employee retention among millennials in Malaysia. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 9(2), 876–884. https://doi.org/10.6007/IJARBSS/v9-i2/5629
Kinasih, N. I., & Amin, G. (2022). Job hopping intention of millennial employees. FIRM Journal of Management Studies, 7(2), 185–199.
Lagrimas, E. L. M., & Buenaventura, V. P. (2023). The mediating effect of constructivist learning environment on the relationship between school culture and student engagement in technology and livelihood education. European Journal of Education Studies, 10(1), 91–117. https://doi.org/10.46827/ejes.v10i1.4620
Lee, E., & Jang, I. (2020). Nurses’ fatigue, job stress, organizational culture, and turnover intention: A culture–work–health model. Western Journal of Nursing Research, 42(2), 108–116. https://doi.org/10.1177/0193945919839189
Leovani, E. (2022). The impact of job hopping on career development of the millenial generation. Jurnal Keuangan dan Bisnis, 20(1), 84–92. https://doi.org/10.32524/jkb.v20i1.425
Liu, X., & Batt, R. (2010). How supervisors influence performance: A multilevel study of coaching and group management in technology-mediated services. Personnel Psychology, 63(2), 265–298. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1744-6570.2010.01170.x
Nasir, M., Hasan, M., & Syahnur, M. H. (2022). Faktor yang mempengaruhi turnover intention karyawan (Studi kasus: PT. Bank Syariah Indonesia, Tbk KC Makassar 2). JMBI UNSRAT (Jurnal Ilmiah Manajemen Bisnis dan Inovasi Universitas Sam Ratulangi), 9(1), 16–29. https://doi.org/10.35794/jmbi.v9i1.37470
Nguyen, H. P., & Le, H. N. (2022). Determinants of job-hopping behavior: The case of information technology sector. International Journal of Law and Management, 64(3), 308–320. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJLMA-06-2020-0178
Pandey, D. L. (2019). Job hopping tendency in millenials. NCC Journal, 4(1), 41–46. https://doi.org/10.3126/nccj.v4i1.24733
Permadi, I. K. O., Landra, N., Kusuma, I. G. A. E. T., & Sudja, I. N. (2019). The impact of compensation and work environment towards job satisfaction to affect the employee performances. International Journal of Management and Commerce Innovations, 6(2), 1248–1258.
Philip, N. (2017). Job-hopping: Does it benefit or detriment careers? [Master thesis, Tillburg University].
Prasetyo, I., Endarti, E. W., Aliyyah, N., Rusdiyanto, R., Kalbuana, N., & Rochman, A. S. U. (2021). Effect of compensation and discipline on employee performance: A case study Indonesia. Journal of Hunan University (Natural Sciences), 48(6), 277–298.
Priyangga, R. D., & Franksiska, R. (2019). Job hopping sebagai intervening pada pengaruh profesionalisme terhadap perkembangan karir. Jurnal Ilmiah Pendidikan dan Pembelajaran, 3(3), 373–383.
Purba, M. Y., & Ruslan, S. (2020). Influence compensation, career development and job satisfaction to turnover intention. Dinasti International Journal of Economics, Finance & Accounting, 1(4), 642–658. https://doi.org/10.38035/dijefa.v1i4.542
Rahman, S. (2023). Analisis budaya kerja untuk generasi milenial di revolusi Industri 4.0. In Seminar Nasional Manajemen (SENIMA 4) (pp. 298–306).
Ruanggoon, J., & Leephaijaroen, S. (2023). The motives for job-hopping among millennial employees in Bangkok: A confirmatory factors analysis to expand the escape and advancement motives. Human Behavior, Development & Society, 24(2), 62–70.
Schwartz, D., Strawn, J., & Sarna, M. (2018, February 1). Career pathways research and evaluation synthesis career pathways design study. Abt Global. https://www.abtglobal.com/insights/publications/report/career-pathways-research-and-evaluation-synthesis-career-pathways
Shakya, A., Bhattarai, U., & Timsina, B. (2025). Unlocking stability: Mitigating job-hopping among millennials in the information technology sector. American Journal of STEM Education, 8, 29–62. https://doi.org/10.32674/xvsrs280
Siddiqui, D. A., & Rida, N. U. (2019). Impact of motivation on employees performance in Pakistan. Business Management and Strategy, 10(1), 1–22. https://doi.org/10.5296/bms.v10i1.14448
Stankevičienė, A., Tamaševičius, V., Diskienė, D., Grakauskas, Žygimantas, & Rudinskaja, L. (2021). The mediating effect of work-life balance on the relationship between work culture and employee well-being. Journal of Business Economics and Management, 22(4), 988–1007. https://doi.org/10.3846/jbem.2021.14729
Sugiarto, E. C. (2019, June 25). Pembangunan Sumber Daya Manusia (SDM) menuju Indonesia Unggul Kementerian Sekretariat Negara Republik Indonesia. https://www.setneg.go.id/baca/index/pembangunan_sumber_daya_manusia_sdm_menuju_indonesia_unggul
Tran, T. T., Nguyen, T. T., & Nguyen, N. T. (2025). Determinants influencing job-hopping behavior and turnover intention: An investigation among Gen Z in the marketing field. Asia Pacific Management Review, 30(2), 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apmrv.2025.100358
Utami, A. F., Triady, M. S., & Suci, R. P. N. (2018). Working values preferences among Gen-X, Y and Baby Boomers in Indonesia. Pertanika Journal Social Science and Humanities, 26, 95–106.
Weng, Q. D. (2018, February). Manual of the organizational career growth scale. ResearchGate. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/323118278_Manual_of_the_Organizational_Career_Growth_Scale?channel=doi&linkId=5a80f8124585154d57d90e69&showFulltext=true
Wijaya, S. (2022). Peran budaya organisasi dalam meningkatkan retensi karyawan. Jurnal Bina Manajemen, 11(1), 199–213. https://doi.org/10.52859/jbm.v11i1.256
Yu, H. S., Lee, E. J., & Na, T. K. (2022). The mediating effects of Work–Life Balance (WLB) and ease of using WLB Programs in the relationship between WLB organizational culture and turnover intention. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(6), 1–16. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19063482
Zahari, S. N. S., & Puteh, F. (2023). Gen Z workforce and job-hopping intention: A study among university students in Malaysia. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 13(1), 902–927. https://doi.org/10.6007/IJARBSS/v13-i1/15540
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Ami Fitri Utami, Ghita Ihwanul Shalihah, Trihadi Pudiawan Erhan
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
a. Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License - Share Alike that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgment of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
b. Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgment of its initial publication in this journal.
c. Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work.
USER RIGHTS
All articles published Open Access will be immediately and permanently free for everyone to read and download. We are continuously working with our author communities to select the best choice of license options, currently being defined for this journal as follows: Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike (CC BY-SA)
