A new survey by Graebel has shown that the opportunity for international relocation is at least as important to employees now than it was before the pandemic.

The survey, which questioned 1500 people in 11 global markets who had resigned from a job in the last two years, found that two-thirds would have been more likely to stay with their companies if they could have kept their current role but relocate to another country. A similar proportion say they might have stayed with their companies had they been offered a relocation within their home country. Over half said a relocation opportunity was very or extremely important for new job offers.

The same survey showed that over 80% of workers would be willing to relocate for work. The three top relocation benefits that could make an employee feel valued and safe are: paying travel and moving costs, finding a place to live and language and cultural training.

Though not directly comparable, these figures are very close to previous surveys conducted by Graebel over the last five years.  This shows that the desire to relocate with work has remained undiminished by the pandemic and, rather than put people off moving, it has encouraged them to appreciate the opportunities that are available globally.

Michelle Mara, Vice President of Account Services for Graebel Companies Inc and a global mobility expert, said that she believed the pandemic had given people the chance to take a step back and digest what they really want and has encourage their employers to listen and make the changes necessary. “The pandemic has caused people to rethink their priorities,” she said. “Now that everybody has realised that they can get through it, they don’t want the status quo anymore, they want something different from the day-to-day routine.  The pandemic opened up the world. People saw what was going on and thought it wasn’t as scary as everyone thought.”

The most recent survey also gave an indication of people’s motivation for wanting to relocate overseas. 45% of respondents said gaining new skills and opportunities was in their top three reasons for wanting to move.  A similar proportion wanted to expand their personal and professional networks. Other reasons included: experiencing a different culture, living in a location they and their family love and learning a new language.

Photo: Michelle Mara.