Work-life balance key to employee satisfaction

The pandemic has destroyed employee loyalty.

PageGroup surveyed 70,000 global employees and found that 90% are open to new job opportunities – 57% are active job seekers and 33% are on the fence. This is consistent across tenure, age, gender, seniority and sectors, and is occurring despite challenging economic circumstances.

The research found that nine in ten of those who started a new job in the last year are open to new opportunities, and that a third of new hires leave in the first six months.

Ultimately, this data suggests that the Great Resignation is in full swing.

And that “the threat of high turnover will be a permanent fixture in the new talent era”, as stated by Kurt Jeskulski, Senior Managing Director at PageGroup, North America.

The changing work-life equation

Despite their desire to leave, employees are satisfied at work – 50% are satisfied with their jobs, 53% happy with their salaries and 64% are content with their workload.

This may seem contradictory, but it just demonstrates the impact that the pandemic had how employees view the world of work.

In what PageGroup calls the ‘Invisible Revolution’, employees increasingly have a transactional attitude towards work – they see it as a means to an end and have a new work-life equation.

PageGroup’s data shows that work-life balance has become a major priority for employees globally – they are no longer willing to sacrifice their personal lives for career success. This explains why seven in ten would choose work-life balance over career success, and 59% would reject a promotion if they think it will negatively impact their wellbeing.

In this scenario, pay has become super important – few are willing to stay in their current jobs without better pay; they have a clear value equation around their jobs.

But employers need to balance salary with other elements of the so-called work-life equation: flexibility and career growth.

Talent thinks the grass is always greener, it is time for employers, and HR teams in particular, to make authentic commitments to paying well, but also creating a great employee value proposition around flexibility of hours and location, and learning and development opportunities.

To date, employees have been overvaluing (by 60%) the interest of employees (and job seekers) in their company brand – instead workers are much more focused on their specific job and their career path (employers undervalue this by 16%, according to PageGroup).

For PageGroup and Jeskulski, it’s time to “deliver where it counts” or face long-term sky-high attrition rates.

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