The Pnet Jobs Market Trends Report for May 2024 has revealed employee tenure trends in South Africa and how long people are staying in their jobs.
The report offers insights into recruitment and employment trends of the South African job market.
According to the report, employee tenure or job tenure is the length of time a person has worked for a particular employer.
Pnet said that long-term employee tenure enhances productivity, stability expertise and fostering a reliable and experienced workforce while short-term employee tenure introduces fresh ideas, adaptability, ambition, driving innovation and flexibility.
Data from Pnet’s indicates that South Africans stay in their jobs on average for three years and one month, however, this differs with various job sectors as different job types require different levels of lifestyle, expertise and seniority.
The report showed that South Africans in the telecommunications sector stayed in their jobs for the longest, five years and two months.
This is followed by people in the marketing sector who stay in their jobs for four years and 11 months, and people in the business and management sector who have four years and 10 months of job tenure.
According to Pnet, jobs in the business and management sector demand higher expertise and offer better pay, have a very long average tenure, four years and 10 months.
Pnet said that the hestaurant and Hospitality sector has the shortest tenure, two years and five months. This is due to seasonal and lower-skill jobs.
The report showed that managerial and supervisor staff show the longest employee tenure:
∎ Middle/department management stay in their jobs roles for nine years and four months on average.
∎ Senior management have employment tenure for eight years on average.
∎ On average team leaders and supervisors stay in their jobs for seven years and six months.
∎ People who have executive management/director jobs stay in their roles for an average of six years and eight months on average.
Certain positions in the admin, office and support job sector show potentially very long employee tenures too:
∎ Admin clerks stay in their roles for an average eight years and five months.
∎ On average, people with client/customer support stay on for six years and four months.
∎ Personal assistants stay in roles for an average of six years
Sales consultants also show potential for a very long tenure of up to nine years, with people who have representative/sales consulting jobs for an average of six years and seven months.
