Only 40% of UK workers would be willing to work overseas… but over three quarters of these want to get as far away as possible!
Research undertaken by Black Mountain, international HR and employee benefits outsourcers, discovered that 40% of us would be willing to work overseas if asked by our current employers. Of those willing to relocate, 74% want to get as far away from the UK as possible, with 27% favouring New York and 25% opting for Sydney.
Over half of those favouring a career overseas (55%) would do so for the perceived improvement in money and benefits. A further 22% would do so for family reasons and just 9% for career progression. Just 7% of those keen on a move were driven by the desire for an improved lifestyle.
The research, which polled over 100 executives from a range of UK companies, goes on to show that of the 60% unwilling to relocate overseas, nearly half believe that moving abroad would damage their career progression. A further 32% feared they would lose out on money and benefits and 11% cited family reasons for staying put.
Respondents claimed the top ten cities in the world they would want to work in are:
1) New York
2) Sydney
3) Paris
4) Vancouver
5) Barcelona
6) San Francisco
7) Madrid
8) Rome
9) Los Angeles
10) Dubai
“In today’s increasingly shrinking world there is likely to be an escalating demand for employees to become globally mobile,” said Steve Nuttall, European Regional Director at Black Mountain. “However, our research suggests that in the future companies are likely to experience difficulties in recruiting staff to work in European countries unless there are financial, family or career progression benefits attached.”