TikTok Full-Time? Survey Shows Europeans Not Done Quitting Jobs

(Bloomberg) -- Quit a day job to do TikTok full-time? Why not, say some Europeans.

About one in 10 are considering leaving their main job in the next six months and instead earning money from social media, e-commerce or trading platforms, according to a Morgan Stanley poll of 12,500 people.

“The received wisdom is that as Covid subsides, and with modest extra flexibility from employers, the majority of people will re-embrace their prior routines,” a team of Morgan Stanley economists and equity analysts wrote in a note. “Our data suggest otherwise.”

With labor shortages already weighing on Europe’s economic rebound, wage inflation will persist for longer if the Great Resignation -- the post-pandemic trend of people leaving the workforce -- carries on, the bank said. 

“It reveals a far greater potential risk of structurally higher wages,” Morgan Stanley wrote. 

One in three of the Europeans surveyed said they make some money by selling things online, creating content on platforms such as YouTube and TikTok, or trading non-fungible tokens. The trend was predominantly among people holding white-collar jobs in information technology, finance, engineering or manufacturing.

“Millennials are poised to move first, with Gen-Z more distant in their ambitions,” Morgan Stanley added. Within that, people earning less than 40,000 euros annually seemed more eager. The firm interviewed people in Germany, Spain, France, U.K. and Italy in early November for the survey.

Country-wise, the U.K. and Germany had the highest number of those who wanted to leave their jobs. More than 80% of them were full-time employees, with those aged 22-34 being the greatest near-term flight risk.

While the trend has macro implications for the market, it’s likely to benefit shares of recruiters such as Hays Plc and Pagegroup Plc, according to Morgan Stanley. 

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