People are spending more time than previously thought in their jobs, effectively dispelling the myth that employees no longer want a 'job for life', according to People Management, the magazine for the CIPD.

A new book on the future of the workplace, which draws on a wide range of research to predict the state of employment in the next 20 years, shows that the average time spent in a job is rising and that career aspirations are longer-term. "The world of work is certainly changing, but not always in the way people may suspect," said Michael Moynagh, a researcher at Oxford University and one of the authors of Working in the Twenty-First Century. "For most people, the pattern is likely to remain one of long-term jobs and careers."

According to research by the Brit<caron>ish Household Panel Survey, highlighted in the book, 94 per cent of men and 91 per cent of women were in permanent employment in 2000. Moynagh said this trend was likely to increase, particularly with fewer women taking long breaks when having children. "I think that where employees have skills that employers need, employers are going to want to hang on to them," he said.

Mike Emmott, CIPD adviser, employee relations, said the findings meant employers should continue investing in their staff.

He said: "It's still worthwhile to offer people careers and invest in them through training," he said. "It's in employers' interests to recruit people for the long term."

Liz Redway, HR manager, Borders UK, said people had a varying commitment to work at different stages in their life. "Younger employees want to try different roles before committing for a longer period. As people start to think about their family or personal lives, the chances are they will want to be more settled," she said.

Moynagh and co-author Richard Worsley, a director of charity The Tomorrow Project, also predict that more work will be done from home and that organisations will look to older people, migrant workers and people who are not in employment to work for them. Karen Moir, director of organisational development at Britannia Building Society, said: "Employees will shop around when their existing post no longer offers satisfaction, reward and career development. "Staff either want to learn new skills to undertake a new job with the same company, or learn additional skills to conduct the same job better or at a higher level with the same company."

Mark O'Connell, HR director, Skandia, said: "I think what people want today is a career. The myth is still there, but the current economic climate says the opposite. "Younger people, for example, may look elsewhere if their company does not provide them with a career."