There’s basically one reason behind why people job hop.

As many as 40% of employees working in digital fields are actively job hunting, and nearly 75% are expecting to leave their current role in the near future. These were among the findings of a global survey of almost 10,000 employees in digital roles conducted by Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and The Network, a global alliance of recruitment websites. The report, titled Decoding the Digital Talent Challenge, is being released today.

The survey, part of BCG’s Decoding Global Talent series, found that the opportunity to advance their careers is the main driver for technology employees looking to switch roles (63%), followed by looking for new challenges (49%). For digital employees, having a good work-life balance continues to be the most valued aspect of their job.

But financial compensation, in the form of both salaries and long-term incentives such as stock options and shares, has gained ground, rising from fifth to third place since the survey was previously conducted in 2018. Diversity and inclusion and environmental issues have also increased in importance over the last year for 61% of employees in digital fields. Fifty percent would not work for companies that do not share their diversity and inclusion beliefs; 48% take the same stance regarding environmental policies. 

“Workers in digital roles emerged from the COVID crisis relatively unscathed and are now entering an overheated talent market with many options,” said Orsolya Kovács-Ondrejkovic, an associate director at BCG and a coauthor of the report. “As companies across all industries digitize, salaries for tech talent have skyrocketed to a level where few employers can compete. However, our research shows that money isn’t everything—employers can still be attractive to digital talent with the right workplace culture and values.”

The number of employees in digital fields who are willing to move to another country for work has declined to 55% from 67% in 2018. However, 68% would be happy to work remotely for an employer without a physical presence in their country, significantly higher than the 57% cross-job average.