Industry effect of job hopping: an agent-based simulation of Chinese construction workers

Job hopping affects the development of industries in terms of efficiency and quality of work. It is a problem for the Chinese construction industry, where excessive job hopping is detrimental to meeting the current daunting challenges involved in the industry’s transformation and efficiency improvement. To provide an exhaustive analysis of this effect, game theory is combined with social relationship networks to create an agent-based simulation model. Simulation results indicate that the frequent job moves of Chinese construction workers have a negative effect on their skill development, employment, and worker relationships, as well as results in sharp increase in employer labor costs. The findings point to the need to act for the benefit of workers and employers and maintain the development of the industry.