Dive Brief:
- Most employees would quit their job today if offered a position at a different company with a similar role, pay and benefits, according to a new O.C. Tanner report. Nearly two-thirds of survey respondents (59%) said they'd take the new opportunity, a 4% increase from last year’s responses. The report, a compilation of data from more than 20,000 employees and leaders in 15 countries, includes in-depth research on employee experience, leadership, teams, listening and burnout.
- O.C. Tanner, a firm specializing in employee recognition and workplace culture, said that workplace cultures — especially cultures that allow burnout — are largely to blame. HR leaders are making some progress in improving culture, the group found, but workplace problems remain, such as employees’ mounting frustration with common employer practices, an "alarming" rise in workplace burnout and employees’ rejection of everyday leadership philosophies and practices.
- "The report clearly demonstrates that companies are addressing workplace culture, but still struggle to achieve more than incremental improvements,” Alex Lovell, O.C. Tanner Institute’s data scientist, said in a media release. "Making dramatic progress will require leaders to rethink leadership practices and concentrate on connecting everyday employee experiences to purpose, accomplishment, and one another."
Dive Insight:
Experts note that as employers find new strategies to attract and retain talent, cultural shifts emerge.
Ensuring that shift moves in the right direction is key, as culture is central to creating a positive work experience for all employees, new hires and even candidates. How HR leaders perceive their culture is telling; they must ask themselves whether it’s delivering the intended results or needs to change. In a Gartner, Inc. study released in July, only 31% of HR leaders felt that their organization had the kind of culture it needed. With such a low percentage of HR professionals giving their cultures the thumbs up, it’s clear that more changes must be made if organizations are going to be successful in building a work environment in which all employees feel valued, not overworked.
And when workers speak out about burnout, bias, harassment or other culture-based issues, it pays for employers to listen, look into the problem and decide what needs to change. Trisha Degg, VP, talent programs and operations at the Illinois Technology Association (ITA), told HR Dive in an earlier interview that she witnessed culture shifts resulting from employee activism and the competition for talent. "People are speaking out more than they ever have in the past," said Degg. "I used to post jobs and never have to hunt for talent, but the days of posting and praying are over. Companies really have to try harder and talk about their culture because money isn't the only thing that talks anymore — it's an overall total package."
