The media narrative focuses on the Great Resignation, citing the millions of Americans who have been abruptly quitting their jobs, with over 4 million resignations in August alone. The “quitters” say that they are sick and tired of being mistreated.
Many of whom were heralded as heroes during the early dark days of the outbreak, are now paid poorly, treated shabbily, forced to deal with angry customers and pushed into the fight of enforcing mask and vaccine mandates in restaurants, bars and other establishments.
There was a collective mind shift caused by Covid-19. The overwhelming amount of cases and deaths forced us to reevaluate the way we work and spend the short time we have here on earth.
However, there is an absence of discussion around what happens to the “remainers,” those who stay with a business after their peers leave in droves. The remainers are larger in numbers compared to the quitters, and management must pay rapt attention to this plight. Two studies tackled this issue, surveying thousands of people to find out what is going on.
Enhancing the experience of those who stay, and understanding why employees left, is the key to the success of companies. Perceptyx researchers analyzed the company’s global survey benchmark database of more than 15 million employees, from hundreds of organizations, across every major industry. Their conclusions were sobering and stark. “Hopeless, aimless and dispirited” is how “one in three U.S. workers gets through the day,” according to the new report by Perceptyx. The findings were eye-opening.
Here are the highlights of what they found:
Neglected And Disconnected
- Thirteen percent of employees did not have needs met by their organizations. They were burned out, angry and likely to leave.
- Thirty-four percent of respondents had one of their needs met—but just barely. Employees in this group tended to be discontent and unmotivated with plans to also leave their companies.
- Disconnected employees indicated they were disengaged with their jobs and unimpressed with their employers. Only 18% felt a strong sense of personal accomplishment at work. Disconnected employees were also eight times less likely to recommend their organization as a place to work than were energized employees. Yet, 70% planned to be in the same job 12 months from now.
- Those feeling negativity are 44 times less likely to recommend the company than energized employees (those who have their needs met in every measured category) and 71 times less likely to say they feel pride in the organization or that they are committed to delighting customers.
- Employees who feel hopeless about their organization’s climate and don’t see a path forward drift through their jobs in a state of frustration. They are 35 times less likely to feel optimistic about the future of the company than energized employees.
- Those feeling despair are six times less likely to feel a sense of personal accomplishment in their work, and 50 times more likely to indicate they don’t understand the expectations of their role, department or organization.
- Only 25% are willing to put forth extra effort and 23% say they wouldn’t chip in something extra.
- Employees who don’t feel their workplace is functional or healthy, but expect to stay on, become numb and detached, just going through the motions. Those feeling indifference are less than 33% as likely to recommend the organization’s products and services as energized employees, and only one-third as likely to report safety issues.
Emily Killham, Perceptyx director of research and insights, commented on the alarming results, stating, “It’s a bad sign when nearly 50% of your employees are unhappy.” Killham added, “Employers are rightly worried about those who will quit.”
Killham also recognizes the need to pay close attention to those who didn’t move on. A detached, unmotivated, beaten-down employee base could cause problems for the future of the company. About the potential downward spiral, she said, “In some ways, I’m more concerned about improving the conditions for the group that stays than the group that leaves.”
The Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM), the largest global membership organization for HR and related professionals, also investigated into why people leave and what happens afterward. Its research shows that about 50% of U.S. executives surveyed reported “much higher turnover than usual in the past six months alone.” Around a staggering 93% of executives said that they have open positions in that same timeframe, and 84% claim “openings are going unfilled for longer periods than before the Covid-19 pandemic.”
Johnny C. Taylor, Jr., SHRM president and CEO, said about the turnover tsunami and its effects, “Employees are leaving their jobs to pursue new opportunities in record numbers, making hiring and retaining talent a significant challenge for employers across the country.” Taylor said, “It’s a candidate’s market and organizations must respond by recognizing the need to think differently in how to recruit and retain talent, revisiting benefits and flexible work schedules, along with broadening the talent pool for open positions.”
Here are some of SHRM’s highlights:
- Forty-one percent of U.S. workers are actively searching or planning to search for a new job in the next few months—a recent shift witnessed during the pandemic. In fact, of these workers, over two-thirds (68%) have considered a career change over the pandemic.
- There is a divide between what employees believe are the most important benefits to make them stay versus what executives believe. The top three reasons U.S. workers are searching for jobs are for better compensation (53%), for better work-life balance (42%) and for better benefits (36%). Meanwhile, the top three reasons U.S. executives think workers are searching for new jobs are better benefits (28%), better career advancement opportunities (28%) and discomfort in the workplace due to Covid-19 (26%).
- While the resignation tsunami is showing no signs of slowing down, there are plenty of loyalists who decided to remain in their role. Following their former colleagues’ exits, more than half (52%) of those who chose to stay say that they’ve had to take on more work and responsibilities. These workers are now left to reconsider their options, as 30% report struggling to get necessary work done, 27% feel less loyalty to their organization, 28% feel more lonely or isolated and more than half (55%) now wonder if their pay is high enough.
If leadership doesn’t immediately take quick, decisive employee-centric actions, there will be a snowball effect. The best and brightest are usually the first to leave, as they know they have options. Recruiters have the top talent on their radar, and like vultures, swoop in to pick off people from firms that are hemorrhaging employees.
When senior-level people walk out the door, employees assume something is wrong. It feels like the captains are jumping off the Titanic and everyone else is left to fend for themselves. If a close co-worker leaves, it makes you feel lonely and adrift. One of the biggest reasons workers remain at a company is out of loyalty and friendship to their close-knit work friends. Once one leaves, the others follow.
If a manager does not quickly backfill the role of a departing team member, colleagues will think that the company may have financial difficulties, and consider exiting too. The longer the job remains open, the more work is dumped on the remainers. After a while the formerly loyal employee becomes angry, resentful and frustrated that they have to work longer hours, due to the extra workload, without receiving any additional pay.
The situation worsens when the supervisor and executives on all rungs of the corporate hierarchy ignore the patter of quitting and don’t talk about what’s happening. The absence of reaching out prompts more people to jump overboard.
Smart leaders should act fast and address the problem. Publicly discuss the situation. Ask workers how they feel and what needs to be changed. Then, implement the things that will keep people at the company and improve their work lives. Executives now have a lot of tools at their disposal. They could offer remote or hybrid work options. For working parents, customized hours could be a lifesaver. Some companies are offering “maximum flexibility,” which means workers are treated as adults and can decide for themselves what is the best way to work.
If business leaders ignore the trend, hoping it goes away, they’ll lose in the long run. The best and brightest will be gone. The company is left with the C-level players that no one else wants. The extra workload encumbers people, and the quality suffers. Clients and customers will be alienated, as we’ve all felt the rage of having to interact with a worker who is obviously malcontent and couldn’t care less anymore about their job or company. Just like the employees leave, the customer will take their business elsewhere as well.
SHRM’s study shows that “business leaders are taking steps to combat the resignation tsunami by offering more competitive benefits for both new recruits and remaining employees.” Nearly 60% of companies reported that “they are offering higher starting salaries and wages than last year.”
Of the HR professionals who witnessed significant turnover in the past six months, “42% said their organization has implemented new or additional remote work or flexibility options to reduce turnover. [Additionally,] 32% have increased employee referral bonuses and 28% have introduced new or additional merit increases.” It’s good to see that some companies “get” what’s going on and are taking action to address this growing challenge.
Source: Forbes
