Are You About to Lose Your Employees?

At the beginning of the pandemic, uncertainty in the labor market and lack of available jobs stopped employees from beginning their search for jobs, but now, although many Americans are still suffering from the economic impact of the pandemic, the labor market has slowly begun to recover.

and in In March, employers added 916,000 jobs; This opened the door for employee turnover, and with a new sense of normal, people are re-evaluating their current employees to decide whether or not it is time to look for a new opportunity for other employees. In fact, 52% of employees will be looking for a job in 2021, up from 35% in 2020.

This is bad news for organizations as staffing needs grow. This is because it will not only need to increase the number of its employees; But you will also need to replace those employees who decide to leave. With that in mind; The Fourth Annual Employee Engagement and Retention Achievement Report reveals what it will take to retain employees through 2021. Here are some highlights:

Unhealthy work-life balance

A key factor driving this expected change is the lack of work-life balance that people have experienced throughout the pandemic. Ironically, many organizations have assumed that work-life balance has improved since the onset of the pandemic, particularly for those who work. remotely after periods of home confinement, and many companies showed more flexibility in their work, however, one in four employees cited work-life balance as a reason for looking for a job.

More than half (51%) of employees worry that their manager will question their daily productivity while working remotely, and that doubt has turned into burnout; More than 40% of people work longer hours than usual. Moreover, 44% of workers report that they start work very early or very late, and 37% of them miss their lunch break; This is what causes frustration and exhaustion.

So how can organizations address this imbalance? Through an approach related to the work of leaders on demonstrating behaviors that help employees feel that it is okay to take leave or get out of work at the specified time, managers must determine the path necessary to achieve a balance between work and life by encouraging taking vacations and investing them for themselves, and also adopting Easy habits like minimizing rest periods or working as a team.

The importance of listening and taking actions

To create an organizational culture based on a healthy balance between work and life, leaders must constantly assess the needs of their employees and then work closely with them to understand the procedures necessary to make a change, and although the new policy in which working hours are smooth may be beneficial to some, it is They can cause more stress for others who need to set their own hours, and every organization and worker will have slightly different needs; This highlights the basic need to understand what the employee needs.

But beyond just understanding needs, companies need to focus on operating from this knowledge that will create positive change, while as many as 60% of employees say their organization has sought their feedback on key issues; From employee experience and culture to promoting diversity, fairness and inclusion, nearly one in five employees say their employer does not act well on feedback.

Not taking action in this way can make people feel not heard and valued, and it can discourage employees from making good contributions in the future. In addition, failure to effect change can be based on employee feedback, lack of trust, and lack of engagement, and thus high turnover.

Boost meaningful participation

The staggering number of employees looking for new jobs indicates an urgent need to think about the state of the workplace. In order to develop a supportive, engaged, and happy work environment, encouraging meaningful employer involvement is key to achieving this goal. While organizations have often focused their strategies on sharing the 'fun benefits'; Like a free breakfast or company profits, but in the pre-pandemic environment, these benefits were not enough. Participation now relies more on the company's core values; That is, its actual embodiment through concrete actions, not mere statements.

Again, taking the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion promotion calculations as an example, research of high-achieving employers found that 52% of them would be busier at work if they improved their Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion score; It is especially important for the millennial generation. It is the largest generation of the workforce, 83% of whom are actively working in a variety of workplaces. When an employer builds a sense of belonging and inclusion in the workplace, this means a 56% increase in job performance and a 50% decrease in turnover risk.

Get a better workforce

The pandemic period has been a good time for reflection. We've all taken a step back from the fast-paced lives we've been living to re-evaluate what's really important to us, and yet many employers are not meeting the ever-changing needs of their workforce. As a result, they will lose the best talent.

For companies to be able to retain and attract the best talent in the future; They must focus on the aspects of the workplace that are most important to employees, work-life balance, and company values.