71 Percent Of Washington, D.C. Metro Area Tech Employees Would Consider Leaving Their Employer For Amazon

More than Half of Local Workforce Interested in Amazon as Employer

Vast Majority Sees Amazon as Big Boost to Local Economy and Salaries, Traffic Tops List of Concerns

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Jan 09, 2019, 10:15 ET

ARLINGTON, Va., Jan. 9, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- New research from Eagle Hill Consulting finds that nearly three-fourths of information technology (IT) workers in the Washington, D.C. area would consider leaving their employer to work for Amazon. About half of all workers (51 percent) say they would consider leaving their current job to work for Amazon, with the percentage even higher for Millennials (60 percent).

Details are contained in the new research, Should I Stay or Should I Go?
D.C. Metro Area Workforce Considers Whether They Should Work for Amazon.

The research was conducted by Ipsos on behalf of Eagle Hill in December 2018 to assess the potential workforce impacts when Amazon opens a new headquarters in northern Virginia. Download the research here.

"Area employers should be worried, especially those that need to retain their tech talent. Employers should do all they can now to hang on to their employees before Amazon arrives – especially in such a tight labor market," says Melissa Jezior, Eagle Hill's president and chief executive officer. "And given the ongoing government shutdown and chronic morale issues, federal agencies should be particularly concerned about losing their top performers to Amazon," she warned.

The national unemployment rate is at a historic low – at 3.9 percent for December 2018.

"Importantly, the data reveal that people who would choose to stay at their job rather than going to Amazon say it is because they are happy with their work and job, feel they have work life balance, like their organization's culture and believe they are well paid. Employers who dig deep to understand their employees' satisfaction and deliver what their workforce needs are positioned to hold onto their star employees when Amazon moves in," Jezior explained.

She said questions local employers can ask now are: What makes employees happy in their jobs? What can we do to help employees better juggle work and personal obligations? How are stress levels? Do we have a culture that empowers our workforce? Do employees feel fairly compensated? Getting this insight can be accomplished through employee conversations and surveys.

The key survey findings are as follows:

Half of all employees (51 percent) say they would consider leaving their current job to work for Amazon, with the percentage even higher (60 percent) for workers aged 18-34.
71 percent of IT workers say they would consider leaving their job to work at Amazon.
The most compelling reason to consider leaving a current job to work for Amazon would be for a better salary (71 percent), followed by securing more interesting work (45 percent) and working for a progressive company (45 percent). These numbers are somewhat consistent for IT workers – 71 percent say it's salary, followed by securing more interesting work (55 percent), and working at a progressive company (51 percent).
52 percent of all workers say they would NOT consider leaving their job because they are happy with the work they do, while 45 percent say it's because they are happy at their current job. Only 32 percent say they would stay put because they feel they are well paid.
88 percent say Amazon's arrival is good for job prospects for job seekers. This is slightly higher for IT workers (92 percent).
73 percent say Amazon's arrival will have a positive impact on overall compensation in the local market.
83 percent say Amazon will have a positive impact on the local economy.
77 percent say Amazon's arrival will have a negative impact on traffic.

The 2018 Eagle Hill survey was conducted online by Ipsos between December 3 and 7, 2018. The online survey included more than 1000 working age people in the Washington, D.C. metro area.

Eagle Hill Consulting LLC is a woman-owned business that provides unconventional management consulting services in the areas of business strategy and performance, talent, and change consulting. The company's expertise in delivering innovative solutions to unique challenges spans across the private, public, and nonprofit sectors, from financial services to healthcare to media & entertainment. Eagle Hill has offices in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area, Boston, MA and Seattle, WA. More information is available at www.eaglehillconsulting.com.

SOURCE Eagle Hill Consulting