Are Employees Discontent and Considering Leaving? Studies say YES

So here are some statistics to start out this conversation: employee engagement is down 9%. But among high performing professionals, that disengagement dropped to 25%

According to surveys released a few weeks ago, by Monster and Human Capital Institute, cynicism is on the rise:

57% of workers believe employers are exploiting the recession to drive longer hours and lower pay from their workforce.

58% believe employers are less concerned about employee retention, and 50% are more concerned about top performers leaving than before the recession.

43% of workers believe employers are now less tolerant of dissent and challenges to authority.

Only 26% excuse their employers for requiring layoffs and longer hours because they believe their employer’s hands were forced by the recession.

48% of workers say their productivity has been affected by a fear of being laid off.


The study concludes by recommending four strategies: communication, employee development, flexibility, and delegation/empowerment. In short, what they are recommending is to start paying closer attention to what the employee needs; not just squeezing harder to get more of what the company needs.

I recently discussed these employment trends with YNN news reporter Leah George at our Rochester Headquarters: http://rochester.ynn.com/all-regions-news-2134-content/all_news/rochester/488265/reports-put-hard-numbers-on-employee-discontent

Recruitment and Retention are at the cornerstone of what we do. How are you retaining your top talent?

Are you overworking your staff?

before I get back to why you shouldn't offer lower salaries to new hires I wanted to comment and look for response on an article I just read about a recent Careerbuilder Survey http://tinyurl.com/nxnbrw: Here is a snip it:
Results of a new CareerBuilder survey of more than 4,400 workers nationwide have revealed that workers who have survived layoffs within their organizations are facing new challenges :
As a result of layoffs within their organization:
47 percent of workers reported taking on more responsibility
37 percent said they are handling the work of two people
34 percent are spending more time at the office
30 percent feel burned out
Workin’ on the weekend
So, how much time are workers now spending at the office to make up for their growing “To Do” lists? Well, nearly one-fifth of workers (17 percent) who have kept their jobs are putting in at least 10 hours per day. To add to that stress, twenty-two percent are working more weekends.

What does this all mean? Does it mean that employers and managers may have a false sense of retention where people are nervous to look or leave their current positions because they at least know what the ups and downs are of the business in the current economy? Look around at your current team, look at your own position and how your jobs may have changed. Is it time to revamp job descriptions and redistribute work now that people have been bearing the burden of 2 people and in some instances more?

Start with yourself and your own position and re-write your job description (I know ... another 10 maybe 12 hour day) and continue on down the line. Look to see who is being over/under utilized and look for processes you could write out that are more systematised and you could hand off to someone else.

Don't forget about team building and the power of bringing people together and maintaining your environment. Yes, there is work that needs to be done and yes things are hectic but if you have individuals doing the work of 2 or more people they won't survive for very long and soon your culture will deteriorate and you could be looking for 2 people to replace that one if you aren't careful, which would put you right back where you were.

Cheap and easy suggestion: pot luck lunch where everyone brings a dish to pass or if you want to bring departments together assign each department a country and they make dishes, beverages and even dress up with clothing from that area/region/country and have little contests for most creative, best overall, even a "better luck next time" category. $5 gift cards or free lunch in the cafeteria can go a long way...

Yes, we all have to work hard to get ahead and be the best at what we do, but if people are working hard out of fear or survival it won't last long.