Employee expectations need to be addressed

The ‘Great Resignation‘ began in the US, but it has swept across the rest of the world. As employees hand in their resignations in droves, businesses have been forced to investigate and rethink their relationships with employees.

They are realizing they need to invest in employee engagement, benefits, and culture-building before it’s too late.

Employee experience and benefits platform, Benefex, has spoken to 4,000 employees in the US, UK, India, and Singapore to understand how they are connected with their job.

Shockingly, the research found that over half (53%) of employees are open to new opportunities and just three in ten are committed enough to their current employer to stay put for at least the next 12 months.

Given that workplaces are already stretched due to labor shortages, and many employees are taking on extra work to pick up the slack, this should be a major concern for employers.

Retaining employees

Despite the ‘Great Resignation’ first being recognized in the US, employees in the country are the least likely to be looking for a new job (13%). In fact, Benefex found that staff in India were most likely to leave for new pastures (31%).

The US also had the most loyal employees with 45% claiming they were unlikely to leave in the next 12 months. This is in stark contrast to India and Singapore where just 25% intend to stay in their role for the next year.

Interestingly, age also played a part in the decision to look at new employment. Benefex found the over 40s had higher levels of job satisfaction and just 1 in 10 were actively job searching compared. This is significantly less that the 25% of under 40s who are looking for new opportunities.

Also, half of the over 40s were happy to remain in their jobs versus 25% for the under 40s age group. The group was also less affected by colleagues leaving their business. 47% said they would reconsider staying with their firm following a colleague’s departure. The figure was 66% for the under 40s. This generational divide may reflect larger societal ills or differing expectations from a workplace.

Speaking about these trends, Matt Macri-Waller, Benefex founder and CEO, said: “The pandemic has forever changed our priorities and our relationships with work, and the landscape for employee experience is shifting.

“With job vacancies and staff attrition at record highs, it’s never been more important for all organizations to re-examine how they engage with employees and how they deliver their employee experiences.”

The research uncovered a need for a better employee experience. Half admitted to having higher expectations of their employer when it comes to wellbeing, provision of high-quality online tools, and greater acceptance about where and how they work.

Almost 40% of workers in the UK also highlighted the need for benefits and receiving recognition.

Considering how employee experience could be improved, 87% of UK workers asked for a tailored benefits package, 86% asked for support regardless of where they worked, and 84% wanted recognition for their efforts.

Macri-Waller concluded: “The research has highlighted the importance of keeping employees engaged across all age groups and making sure they feel valued, especially in today’s hybrid work reality where the dynamics are less well defined.

“People are a company’s most important asset and creating an effective employee experience, one which can accommodate and create a great experience for different types of workers will be key to employee retention.”