- Two-thirds say they would work for an SME rather than a multinational company
- Workers still fear the economic uncertainty facing SMEs
- Human relationships and alignment of company objectives are important
A growing number of UK workers are losing faith in large multinational companies following consistent and high-profile redundancies in recent years at tech companies and other large corporations.
New data from CareermindsUK found that two in three (67%) UK workers would now prefer to work for a small business or start-up rather than a large company.
However, job security is not the only influential factor: values and trust are also cited as key drivers for applicants seeking new opportunities.
More and more workers prefer SMEs to large companies
The report argues that years of corporate layoffs have weakened the long-standing perception that the world’s largest companies offer the most secure jobs and the most attractive career progression opportunities: only one in three (33%) still believe this is the case.
At the same time, only one in five (20%) said they consider small businesses safer in the current economic climate, meaning they are being pushed away from large businesses rather than attracted to SMEs. Still, nearly half (47%) said they would choose a smaller company or startup because they want to support their employer, and research points to the importance of human relationships and alignment with company goals.
The tech sector has already laid off more than 116,000 workers this year to date, according to deyoffs.fyi. Some of the hardest hit include Oracle, Intel, Amazon, Tesla, Google, Meta, Dell and Microsoft, representing tens of thousands combined.
“Smaller, lesser-known employers now have a unique opportunity to attract top talent who may never have considered working for them before,” explained career expert Amanda Augustine.
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