Jesse Harriot
Updated: August 16, 2021
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New data on the return to work
By Jesse Harriot
Organizations have been planning their long-awaited return-to-work strategy. While these plans may have felt hypothetical just a few months ago, that’s no longer the case. We at Workhuman surveyed 1,000 full-time U.S. employees to provide insights into what they want from their employers.
The Great Resignation. The Turnover Tsunami. The Big Quit. Whatever you’re calling it, it should be on your mind. Consider this: According to a LinkedIn survey, the average annual turnover rate is about 11%. Our results, however, show 61% of respondents are considering changing jobs within the next year.
We found 70% are staying in their current positions for their company/co-workers. If organizations want to counteract potential turnover, culture is the path forward. Gaps still exist in how valued respondents feel. It’s clear men feel more valued than women, with 55% feeling very valued compared to 36% of women. Similarly, white employees feel very valued (48%) as compared to their colleagues of color, who chose somewhat valued as their top answer (47%).
Leaders must promote belonging, connection, and meaning: human aspects of work employees yearn for.
As the U.S. continues to add new jobs at record rates, employees are using it to their advantage. Men responded they are more likely to leave their positions given it’s an employees’ market (27%), followed by more likely to ask for a raise because it’s an employees’ market (22%).
On the other hand, 24% of women are less likely to leave because they enjoy the culture, followed by less likely to leave because of company benefits (19%).
Broken down further, we see a discrepancy between white employees and people of color. While white employees are more likely to leave their job in an employees’ market (23%), 22% of POC are more likely to ask for a raise. All groups have a willingness to ask for more pay, yet POC are less likely than white colleagues to leave their position in search of a better one.
U.S. workers thought they finally made it to the end of COVID-19. Yet with the Delta variant surging, that may no longer be the case. To determine how physically safe employees feel, we asked if the Delta variant has changed respondents’ return-to-work plans. Overall, the responses are fairly evenly split between yes and no.
Digging further, we found POC are more hesitant than white employees, with 59% of POC respondents stating their plans have either changed or they do not plan to return to the office at all. White employees said they were more satisfied with their companies’ return-to-work plans as compared to their POC colleagues.
As companies continue to develop their return-to-work plans, it’s critical to build a policy fitting the needs of all employees. When asked about preferences for return to work, a majority of respondents said they prefer a four-day work week (35%) and flexible workdays (34%) compared to starting earlier, later, or sticking with a five days/week, 9-5 schedule.
More men (34%) prefer a four-day work week, whereas women prefer to have flexible workdays (35%). The data shows white employees prefer a four-day work week, but POC employees would rather have flexible working days.
Employees needs will vary, but it’s clear flexible work environments are a must in the future of work.
Jesse Harriot is the global head of analytics at Framingham human resources tech firm Workhuman.
WBJ Web Partners
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Anonymous
August 31, 2021
The media continues to report on the "long awaited return to work" but traffic on the roads indicates that most people have been back for a while. Those that have not returned yet have no real plans to return their employees to the office.
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