WX trends: Is the next Great Resignation on the horizon?
Our workplace experience (WX) trends series looks at recent news articles, videos, social media posts, and thought leadership pieces on workplace experience. You’ll also hear from our experts on what’s trending.
News just in: “a Great Resignation 2.0 is simmering”.
Figures from accountancy firm PwC and the US Chamber of Commerce show that workers are moving jobs to find better work-life balance, compensation, and company culture.
So, what can we learn from 2022’s Great Resignation 1.0? A lot, actually.
Underpaid and overworked employees want a better place to work
Employees feel underpaid and overworked, and they’re looking for “greener pastures”, according to new research from accountants PwC.
“Far more people are considering resigning now than during the mass resignations we saw in 2022,” they report in their Global Workforce Hopes & Fears Survey of 56,000 workers across the globe.
45% of employees said their workload is “significantly” higher in the past year, 52% feel financially insecure, and 62% are feeling the stress of keeping up with new technologies at work. All of which will negatively impact wellbeing, engagement, and productivity at work.
The report’s authors advise: “Companies need to create guidance and mentoring about the types of skills employees need to build. It’s also important to create a culture of learning, where freeing up opportunities for learning is part of the organization’s DNA.”
Hanging on to your talent in the Great Reshuffle
PwC’s report echoes findings from the US Chamber of Commerce who opt for “The Great Reshuffle” to describe the swathes of workers who’ve voluntarily quit their jobs to find new opportunities that better serve their values and needs. They argue better work-life balance and flexibility, higher compensation and a strong company culture are all high on jobseeker wish lists.
Their figures, from September 2024, show that while quit rates are high, they’re outpaced by hiring rates – fuelled by workers looking for a better place to work.
“Factor in the overheads involved in high staff turnover and the cost of losing talented employees, and this could be prohibitively costly,” says Holly Grogan, Appspace’s Chief Experience Officer.
Addressing issues around company culture is imperative, she argues.
“Reducing friction for remote and hybrid workers and making the office a destination worth the commute are just some of the keys to avoiding the Great Reshuffle in your organization.”
Four tips to help you prepare for “the next quits cycle”
If the Great Resignation taught us anything, says an article in Inc., employers should be prepared for “the next quits cycle” on the horizon.
Here are their four top tips:
- Focus on quality when it comes to hiring. Invest in HR competencies, focus on building a “pipeline of future talent”, and use smart tech like AI to boost recruitment practices.
- Make retention a bigger goal for your organization. When employees leave, they take knowledge and know-how with them. Up your game when it comes to workplace experience, engagement, and staff wellbeing.
- Your workplace culture matters. “Employees who feel connected to their organizational culture are four times as likely to be engaged at work, 62% less likely to feel burned out, and 43% less likely to seek new job opportunities elsewhere.”
(Here’s a handy primer on changing your workplace culture for the better.) - Be agile and adapt – new technologies and cultural shifts will create changes in the workplace. Testing out ways to implement automation and AI will give businesses “the upper hand”. Organizations that can recognize these shifts as they happen, and adapt their strategies, will be the ones to thrive.
