Employee First Attitude Required

Research from the Adecco Group suggests that faced with increasing economic uncertainty, companies must tackle both financial and well-being concerns to support their employees during these uncertain times and keep resignations at bay. The Company has unveiled the results of the third edition of its global workforce study: Global Workforce of The Future Report 2022. The report examines the world of work through the lens of 34,200 respondents (both desk- and non-desk-based workers) across 25 countries – the largest and most wide-ranging cross-section of workers globally ever covered by the research.

Valerie Beaulieu-James, The Adecco Group’s Chief Sales and Marketing Officer, said: “To avoid workers feeling the temptation to quit – and this is becoming contagious on a global scale – companies must seize the moment to reprioritise their commitment to their people and not simply rely on the blunt tool of salary rises alone. In meeting workers’ expectations, companies must put a strong work-life balance front and centre, as this will make a difference for those workers who are on the fence between staying or leaving. To tackle this head on, make retention strategies the top priority and ensure managers have career conversations with their team members as a crucial first step. Now is the time for companies to invest in their workforce, with reskilling employees and empowering managers to reinvigorate a clear workplace purpose that will motivate all workers, wherever they are.”

The research identifies inflation as a major cause for concern for workers. Three in five (61 per cent) across the globe are worried their salary is not high enough to manage the current rates of inflation and the accompanying cost of living crisis. This is making more than half (51 per cent) of workers more likely to look for a second job, with nearly four in 10 non-desk workers (35 per cent) admitting to having worked cash-in-hand jobs to make ends meet. Millennials are most likely to do both.

The survey highlights the rise of the ‘quitfluencer’. Over two thirds (70 per cent) consider quitting themselves if they see others leaving. Countries most exposed to the risk of the quitfluencer phenomenon are those with the highest numbers of workers most likely to resign. Workers are most likely to leave their jobs in Australia (33 per cent), Switzerland (32 per cent) and in Eastern Europe, Middle East and North Africa (31 per cent). Globally, Gen Z are 2.5 times more likely to be influenced to quit than Baby Boomers.

The survey’s findings show a clear need for companies to focus on retention solutions; given almost a third of workers globally (27 per cent) say they intend to quit their job within the next 12 months. Of those, almost half (45 per cent) are actively looking. Here lies an opportunity for companies to intervene and buck the trend; investing in reskilling and retention schemes to keep the quitting contagion at bay.

As companies face the challenge of a quitting contagion, against the backdrop of wage inflation and a potentially looming recession, the report also points to solutions in certain key areas to reduce turnover. The findings make clear that while salary has been an effective recruitment tool in recent years, workers no longer stay just for the salary. The additional reasons for them to commit to an employer include a strong company culture that offers a good work-life balance, fruitful relationships with colleagues and carefully crafted development opportunities, especially for non-managers.

Overall job satisfaction today is multidimensional and based on the right mix of pay for performance, career advancement, flexibility, mental health and well-being. To avert a quitting crisis, now is the time for companies to seize the moment and reprioritise their commitment to their people, reinvigorating a clear workplace purpose that will motivate all workers, wherever they are.