Bankers will do whatever to earn an extra buck – the stereotype is deeply entrenched. A new survey about the motives for changing jobs however shows that another group of professionals is actually far worse.
Emolument, a U.K.-based careers portal, only asked one question in its latest survey: would you change your job if you were offered a 20 percent pay increase? The specialists in salaries put the question to employees in the whole of Europe. The 2,000 answers included those of bankers.
And these answers didn’t support the stereotype at all. Every fifth employee in the financial services industry said he or she would stick to his job despite the offer of higher pay (see table below).
It still doesn’t make for fantastic reading of course, but far better than for representatives of most other professions. For instance, only 7 percent of those working in the media said they would forego the promise of a pay rise.
So, are bankers really more loyal to their employers? The salary policies applied by most international banks would suggest not – managers defend paying above-average salaries with concern about losing the best talents.
Higher Pay and Shrinking Market
Emolument has come to a different conclusion though: bankers wouldn’t budge for a 20 percent hike because they already earn more than most others and wouldn’t risk their reputation and job security for a pay increase.
Swiss banking, which currently is undergoing far-reaching structural change, may profit in this respect over worry about the shrinking market. Bankers in Switzerland may prefer sticking to their – well-paid— job instead of joining the relative unknown of a new company.
