Dive Brief:

• Employee willingness to go "above and beyond" at work is at the lowest level seen in four years, according to CEB, a "best practice" HR insight and technology company
• This downturn in discretionary effort, coupled with a strong global trend toward staff staying put in their current jobs, suggests that employees are "quitting in seat" — physically showing up but mentally checking out, which could lead to a material decline in productivity next year if left unchecked.
• The tepid global economy also is a major factor in employees' generally neutral perceptions of the job market. Since most workers don't have reason to anticipate major rounds of redundancies, they aren't motivated to seek new positions out of fear. Nor are economies so poised for growth that the opportunities and benefits offered by other employers trump the financial stability of staying put.

Dive Insight:

This hesitancy to look elsewhere is most pronounced in Singapore and New Zealand, according to CEB. Only Canada bucked the trend with nearly 6% more Canadian workers actively searching for a new role in Q3. On an annual basis, the trend is more pronounced in the U.S., U.K. and New Zealand with double-digit decline, followed closely by Germany, Australia and Brazil respectively.

"Employee dissatisfaction is always a concern since it can have a notable impact on overall workforce performance," said CEB HR Practice Leader Brian Kropp. "However the lack of future career opportunities available to employees must be addressed if employers want to see higher productivity growth rates. Traditional career paths are a thing of the past and employees know it. Companies need to create new ways to advance and develop their people if they want to stay competitive and reverse the 'quitting in seat' trend."

Kropp says to prevent disengagement and improve employee productivity, organizations should focus on improving access to career opportunities, communicating about development, and setting clear expectations.