The latest Talent Index research from lifecycle management platform Beamery, has found almost half (47 per cent) of UK workers say bonuses and salaries are not rising enough to compensate for the increasing cost of living.
The Index has recorded a shift of opinion from Q3 2021, when 1 in 4 workers cited a desire for work-life balance as their top priority. A total of 55 per cent of respondents now say that an increase in salary will be what helps them determine whether or not they stay in their current role.
Whilst respondents felt that higher pay would encourage them to stay with their current employer, they also added it would be commensurate with the longer hours they are now working, with as many as three in five employees (59 per cent) commenting that they feel some pressure to always be online or available outside of contracted hours.
When asked where this pressure comes from, 21 per cent said it was self induced, due to notifications on their phone, a fifth (18 per cent) said being available outside contracted hours was expected by senior management, and 18 per cent said it was in response to their own general anxieties and insecurities about work.
Abakar Saidov, co-founder and CEO at Beamery, said “The shift to hybrid work has clearly brought many benefits, but it has also created unforeseen issues like an always-on culture. Employers should be mindful of this and encourage managers to take a more proactive role in determining best practices that work for the business, the teams and the individual. Adopting a skills based approach to filling new roles and opportunities within the business, for example, leads to increased interest and understanding from staff on the value of internal movement across departments. Encouraging employees to be part of new projects that will boost their skill-sets will also increase levels of motivation and commitment. The Great Resignation has, in part, been driven by an employee’s lack of fulfilment from their work but talent-focused businesses are in a powerful place to proactively tackle this issue.”
Eager to develop and learn new skills, UK employees are already starting to take up gig jobs within their organisations. 35 per cent of men, and 22 per cent of women, said they have already taken on an internal project within the company they are employed by, whilst 67 per cent overall said they are considering doing so. This data certainly suggests that talent mobility is a valuable area for businesses to invest in.
One way to gauge employee sentiment about a role and a company is a ‘stay interview’; an open conversation about an employee’s career path, and their feelings towards it. Beamery’s data indicates, however, that more than half (55 per cent) of employers do not yet have a stay interview process in place, which suggests businesses are missing a critical step in employee retention best practices.
The Talent Index findings also share a cautionary word about making a new career choice in a hurry; with almost half (49 per cent) of UK respondents admitting that they had left a company in the past and later went on to regret it – specifically, 55 per cent of males said this, versus 45 per cent of females saying the same.
