Fifty-two percent of employees in North America will look for a job this year, one in four (25%) named work-life balance as the reason they would job hunt
TORONTO, March 10, 2021 — More than half (52%) of North American employees surveyed plan to look for a new job in 2021, that’s according to a new report conducted by Achievers, the progressive choice for employee voice and recognition solutions that accelerate a culture of performance. The 4th annual Employee Engagement & Retention Report, commissioned by the Achievers Workforce Institute, revealed that workplace stressors “ likely exacerbated by the pandemic“ are to blame. In fact, in the survey, one in four employees named work-life balance as the reason they would look for a new job.
Over a year into the pandemic, workplace stressors are also affecting employee confidence. More than half (51%) of employees who are currently working from home worry their manager doubts their productivity. To compensate, more than two in five employees are starting their work days earlier or working later, and more than a third are skipping lunch breaks in an effort to show productivity to managers.
This year’s Employee Engagement & Retention Report revealed how the pandemic is affecting today’s workforce, with work-life balance or lack thereof being a key component as to why an employee might be motivated to seek other career opportunities, – said Dr. Natalie Baumgartner, Chief Workforce Scientist, Achievers Workforce Institute. Understanding what is important to your employees and acting on feedback they provide is essential to creating a company where employees thrive, rather than simply survive.
Additional key findings from the 2021 Employee Engagement & Retention Report include:
Compensation, benefits and work-life balance are top reasons employees are job hunting
- Better compensation and benefits (35%) and better work-life balance (25%) are the top two reasons why employees would leave their current job.
- Alternatively, employees who stated they would stay in their current role are motivated by work-life balance (23%) and recognition (21%).
- While nearly three in five (59%) of employees say their employer has solicited their feedback on how to improve the employee experience, nearly one in five (18%) employees say their employer/manager is ‘horrible’ at acting on feedback, and don’t act on it.
Improving employee engagement relies on more than fun perks
- Just one in five (21%) employees say they are very engaged and planning to stay with their company for a long time.
- More than half (52%) of employees would be more engaged at work if their employer improved its diversity and inclusion, 49% would be more engaged if their employer took a stand on racial and social injustice issues and 37% would be more engaged if there were more people at work who looked like them.
Employees do not feel connected to their company
- Nearly half of employees (46%) feel less connected to their company or colleagues since the start of the pandemic, compared to just 38% who say they feel more connected since the start of the pandemic.
- Additionally, 42% say company culture has diminished since the start of the pandemic, with lack of communication (26%) or lack of effort to make remote employees feel connected (25%) being key contributing factors.
For more information about the 2021 Employee Engagement & Retention Report, click here.
About Achievers
Achievers’ employee voice and recognition solutions bring your organization’s values and strategy to life by activating employee participation and accelerating a culture of performance. Achievers leverages the science behind behavior change, so your people and your organization can experience sustainable, data-driven business results. Visit us at www.achievers.com.
