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Survey: Two in ten global employees “very likely” to take full-time job abroad for 2-3 years with 10pc pay raise

Two in ten (19 percent) employees in 24 countries would be "very likely" to take a full-time job in another country for two to three years with a 10 percent pay increase, finds a new poll conducted by global research company Ipsos on behalf of the Canadian Employee Relocation Council. Those most likely to say they would relocate internationally were from Mexico (34 percent), Brazil (32 percent), Russia (31 percent), Turkey (31 percent) and India (28 percent).

Global employees report they would be most motivated to move abroad for the new job offer by the following incentives: a guaranteed option to return to their current role after two years, (35 percent say this would make them "much more likely to take the job"), 10 percent pay increase (31 percent), round trip tickets to visit home (30 percent) and paid language training if necessary (29 percent).

Appetite for international experience
Employees in 24 countries were asked to consider the opportunity of a full-time job available in another country at least three to five hours away by plane for anywhere between two or three years with a minimum 10 percent increase in pay.

Two in ten (19 percent) report they are "very likely" to consider moving to this new job. Three in ten (30 percent) are "somewhat likely", one quarter (25 percent) are "not very likely" and another quarter (26 percent) say they are "not at all likely". Employees in Mexico appear most motivated by this opportunity, as one third of their employee population (34 percent) reports being "very likely" to move abroad, followed by Brazil (32 percent), Russia (31 percent), Turkey (31 percent), India (28 percent) and Saudi Arabia (27 percent). On a global basis, those most likely to be "very likely" to take the job opportunity are: low income (32 percent), low education (31 percent), under the age of 35 (30 percent), a senior executive/decision maker at their work (29 percent) and men (29 percent).

When asked to indicate their top reasons for why they would relocate, 4 in 10 (38 percent) say they would do so because of the better pay. Other reasons employees give for their interest in moving abroad include: better living conditions (28 percent), that it is a good career move to get international experience (27 percent), a new adventure (15 percent) and time for a change/fresh start (15 percent).

The top reason why global employees would not relocate is that 10 percent is not enough money/compensation for such a move (36 percent). Three in ten (30 percent) say they don’t want to leave their friends and family behind (30 percent), two in ten (18 percent) say their partner has a job preventing a transfer, 15 percent say it would be too far/remote to take the other position while 13 percent say it is too late in their career and another 13 percent say they don’t want to uproot children from schools and friends.

Incentives to move abroad
There are some incentives that employers could offer workers to encourage a move to that new international job. One third (35 percent) of employees in 24 countries report that a guarantee to be able to move back to their current role after two years with further relocation assistance would make them "much more likely to take the job". Three in ten (31 percent) say the 10 percent pay raise would motivate them this way, while another 3 in 10 (30 percent) say that would be much more likely to relocate if they and their immediate family members would each get one round trip airfare per person to travel back home or have two round trip tickets. For 29 percent of global employees, paid language training (if necessary) would make them much more likely to relocate while 28 percent would be similarly motivated by being provided with education courses to upgrade their skills.

Three in ten (27 percent) would make the local move
Employees were also asked to consider a similar relocation opportunity to another city: If they had a full-time job opportunity in the near future that would mean relocating to another city in their country, for a minimum of two years with at least a 10 percent pay raise and all moving expenses covered, 27 percent report they would be "very likely" to take the job. Four in ten (37 percent) report they would be "somewhat likely" while one quarter (23 percent) would be "not very likely" and 13 percent would be "not at all likely".

Those most likely to relocate to a new city are from Mexico (44 percent "very likely"), Brazil (42 percent), Italy (40 percent), Argentina (35 percent), Poland (33 percent) and Spain (33 percent).

Globally, those with low income (32 percent), low education (31 percent), under 35 (30 percent), not married (30 percent), men (29 percent) and a senior executive or decision maker at their work (29 percent) appear most likely to relocate to a new city.

These are some of the findings of an Ipsos Global @dvisor poll conducted between 5 August and 15 August 2011. The survey instrument is conducted monthly in 24 countries via the Ipsos Online Panel system. The countries reporting herein are Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, Great Britain, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Poland, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Turkey and the United States of America. An international sample of 12,907 employees out of 19,271 adults aged 18-64 in the US and Canada, and age 16-64 in all other countries, were interviewed. Approximately 1000+ individuals participated on a country by country basis with the exception of Argentina, Indonesia, Mexico, Poland, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Sweden, Russia and Turkey, where each have a sample 500+. Weighting was then employed to balance demographics and ensure that the sample’s composition reflects that of the adult population according to the most recent country Census data and to provide results intended to approximate the sample universe. A survey with an unweighted probability sample of this size and a 100 percent response rate would have an estimated margin of error of +/-3.1 percentage points for a sample of 1,000 and an estimated margin of error of +/- 4.5 percentage points for a sample of 500 19 times out of 20 per country of what the results would have been had the entire population of the specifically aged adults in that country been polled.