Nearly half of U.S. workers (49 percent) are at leastsomewhat likely to look for another job this year, according to the2012 Aflac WorkForces Report. And most of thosewho say they are extremely or very likely to leave their jobsdescribe themselves as the kind of workers companies need to retainto remain competitive in a tight economy.

The online survey of nearly 1,900 benefits decision-makers andmore than 6,100 U.S. workers found that those employees who areextremely or very likely to look for a new job in 2012 say thefollowing qualities describe them fairly or extremely well:

• Hard worker—90 percent
• High achiever at work—79 percent
• Highly educated—73 percent
• Ambitious; someone who strives to get ahead—64 percent.

The survey reports that workers who are extremely or verysatisfied with their benefits program are 9 times more likely tostay with their employer than those who are dissatisfied with theirbenefits program. In fact, 76 percent of employees say they wouldbe at least somewhat likely to accept a job with a more robustbenefits package but lower compensation.

Eighty-four percent of workers say benefits are at leastsomewhat important in the decision to leave a current employer, and50 percent say they are very or extremely influential.

Other findings include:

• 35 percent of workers who think their company has a poorreputation as a great place to work say they are extremely likelyto leave in the next 12 months.
• One-third of workers who don't believe retaining employees isan important priority for their employer say they are likely toleave.
• Workers who said they are stressed out are nearly twice aslikely (43 percent versus 25 percent) to leave their jobs comparedto workers who are not stressed. Another 28 percent of employeeswho are extremely likely to leave their job in the next 12 monthssay they don't have peace of mind.