In an exclusive ‘Fast Company’-Harris Poll, 59% of middle-income workers said they’re thinking about changing jobs. Remote work continues to be a draw.

Last year changed everything for workplaces across America. But now that 2020 is finally behind us, changes are still afoot. They’re just more self-directed.

A new survey conducted by Harris Poll exclusively for Fast Company found that the majority (52%) of U.S. workers are considering a job change this year, and as many as 44% have actual plans in place to make the leap.

As for who’s contemplating a job hop, the most likely candidates were those whose annual household income is between $50,000 and $75,000 (the middle-income bracket). Fifty-nine percent of those individuals said they’ve thought about making a switch.

Prior to the pandemic in 2018, 51% of workers were planning to change jobs that year according to data from Statista.

But the poll indicated that even more managers and highly skilled workers are prepared to change jobs. Close to half (48%) of six-figure salaried workers are plotting their switches and as many as 66% of them are feeling more confident about their decision to change jobs than they did six months ago. Across the board, 21% of workers surveyed felt there were “better opportunities available to [them] at other companies.”

And those opportunities aren’t just found in steps up the corporate ladder. As the jobs market continues to rebound, it’s safe to say that the great remote work experiment thrust upon many American workers last March has changed perceptions about where they want to work. Flexibility is in high demand for workers looking for new positions.

Remote work and work-from-home options are valued by 68% of currently employed workers, and 43% of women asserted that these options are “very important,” versus 33% of men. Eighteen percent of workers said they’d prefer to have more flexible hours in a new job.

By Lydia Dishman for Fast Company