Survey: Workers blame weak company culture for lack of engagement.
There was a time when employees commonly worked at a company for years, often receiving gold watches and pensions from the same place where they started their careers. However, recent findings suggest that employee loyalty is a thing of the past and that employers need to work harder to win engagement and buy-in. Read on to find out what employees like about their jobs, what impacts their morale and productivity, and what makes them head out the door.
According to a survey of over 200,000 workers in 20 industry, 43% of respondents say they would be willing to leave their current company for a 10% salary increase, and they say that weak company culture is to blame. For instance, they believe that leadership lacks self-awareness and that employees aren’t getting enough direction or recognition. Specifically:
· Only 22% of employees believe that management is transparent.
· Nearly half (44%) of employees say they don’t feel that they have sufficient opportunities for professional growth in their current positions.
· Only a third of workers say they received recognition the last time they went the extra mile at work, and just one-quarter feel “highly valued” at work.
· Less than a third of respondents say they think their company has a strong culture.
There is some good news. Although under 10% of people think that most of their coworkers are happy, nearly all (91%) respondents like their colleagues and rate them highly. At the same time, nearly three-quarters (73%) say they have a clear and accurate picture of how their company is performing.
These results, while presenting a somewhat dismal picture of employee engagement, make it clear that a strong, healthy culture is key to employee satisfaction and loyalty. For instance, the employee-manager relationship has a major impact; and workers say they are happiest in a workplace where they can freely offer feedback, ideas, and suggestions without fear of retribution. Workers also say that boredom contributes to disengagement, so it is important to find ways to help employees feel challenged and needed on the job. Workers’ first impressions of the workplace have long-term impact; so positive, engaging, interactive onboarding is essential to creating employee happiness that lasts.
