Initially with less number of companies, employees generally used to stick to a single parent company until their working years were over and opt for a silent retirement period after that. But this scenario has changed considerably as the last century has seen a slew of companies coming up in industries as diverse as the manufacturing sector to the services sector. And with a booming economy, these companies are hiring skilled manpower on a large scale. Salaries have shot through the roof and this has made the employee become a lot smarter and sharper. This article analyzes the job-hopping phenomenon.

A radical change has come about the way people view their careers. Everyone has a notion of a dream job and he/she works his/her way up to reach this goal and in the process hops from the current position to lucrative jobs. Changing jobs frequently was related to lack of professionalism some time back, but now the connotation has changed. A person staying with an organization for too long is suspected to be lacking in skills and competency.

Job-hopping, a shift from one job to another in a short span of time, is a common phenomenon in the current scenario. A job-hopper is usually a person who has changed jobs frequently and has a minimum of three jobs with less than a year or two of work experience in the same set-up. An individual while planning his/her career goal outlines a roadmap that he/she has to take and work towards it. In India, with constant economic growth we are witnessing an increase in the demand for people for different jobs, so opportunities available are aplenty.

Employee loyalty and commitment are not found in organizations these days. To be successful, it is expected of an individual to job hop when he/she gets an attractive offer. Employees are often put in a confusing state of mind, when they may not have any pressing reason for change in job but the offer is too attractive to be ignored. If an employee does not take an interest in the offer and remains with the organization, then after a specific time he/she will become `obsolete'. However, if he/she goes for the offer, it may not necessarily give him/her the expected benefits.

HRM Review Magazine, Job-hopping, Lucrative Jobs, Skilled Manpower, Work Environment, Decision Making Process, Human Capital Management, Career Advancement, peer pressure, Remanuration.