According to Prudential Financial’s Pulse of the American Worker survey, 1 in 4 workers are preparing to look for opportunities with a new employer post-pandemic. In a Microsoft global survey of over 30,000 people in 31 countries, 40% said they are considering leaving their employer this year. Why are millions of people deciding that it’s time to find new employment now?
The answer can be broken down into 5 specific reasons:
- Career advancement
- Work-life balance
- Remote work
- Better benefits
- Company culture
Here’s a deeper dive of why these five topics are so important to employees post-pandemic:
CAREER ADVANCEMENT
Many employees are saying they feel stuck in their careers and like there is little, if any, upward growth momentum. The pandemic made many people realize that they are limited in what they can do to progress their career and there aren’t as many offerings for increasing skills and training. People feel like they have been working hard, but aren’t necessarily seeing the benefits of that from their employer.
WORK-LIFE BALANCE
A survey by Joblist revealed that over 30% of workers said they’d give up part of their pay for a better work-life balance, with parents willing to take a 5% pay cut, which shows that many people nowadays value having a good work-life balance. Especially post-pandemic, when some people found it hard to stop working when they were remote all the time, having this type of balance is key. Workers are looking for companies that are more flexible and encouraging of balancing time.
REMOTE WORK
Remote work used to be fairly rare, or the kind of thing you only could do in certain fields, but after quarantine, thousands of people are realizing how simple it is to do their jobs from home instead of the office. They want to be able to use hybrid models, or work from home fulltime. Companies that refuse to be flexible in that regard are going to see turnover as employees leave to find jobs that will allow WFH.
BETTER BENEFITS
During the pandemic, many people exhausted their emergency funds or found themselves even deeper in debt. 8 in 10 workers want companies to focus on providing financial wellness benefits, meaning retirement plans, health, disability and life insurance, paid family medical leave and emergency savings programs. Employees are considering job changes to find places that will provide that kind of support.
COMPANY CULTURE
Company culture is one of the often overlooked aspects of employee retention. You want a culture that aligns with your values and priorities, and a lot of people are realizing post-pandemic that their current job might not be a fit in that respect. Some employees were unhappy with communication and continuation of company culture during the pandemic and as such, are looking for new roles.