We have all heard of The Great Resignation and now The Great Regret, but have you given thought to what those movements are really saying about our workforce? Workers' values and expectations of their employers have changed. Period. Whether they are still planning on leaving your organization or may boomerang back, workers are ultimately prioritizing what is important to them rather than accepting inflexible cultures.
To better understand the U.S. workforce today, Morning Consult ran a cluster analysis that netted
five distinct groups of workers in the new normal: Minimalists, Transactionalists, Aspirationalists, Traditionalists, and Lifestylists.
- Minimalists – Don’t expect much from their work.
- Transactionalists – View their professional lives as a quid pro quo.
- Aspirationalists – See their careers as a means of making a real impact on the world.
- Traditionalists – Their jobs provide a means of living and some satisfaction.
- Lifestylists – Work supports their personal priorities and hobbies.
There are several things to consider when determining what the new workforce values.
- Where they prefer to work.
- How comfortable they’d be returning to the office.
- The importance of a flexible work environment.
- Whether to work to live or live to work.
The Great Reprioritization means employers need to understand several things. Employers need to ask:
- Do we need to adjust compensation to stay competitive?
- Do we understand our employees’ personal values?
- Are we meeting our employee’s interpretation of flexible work?
According to the same report by Morning Consult, 24% of employed adults in the U.S. plan to leave their current job to find a new job in the next year. There are four areas that employers can’t ignore when it comes to understanding these five groups and the new norms.
- Pay and Benefits
- Flexibility
- Environmental, Social, and Governance
- Workplace Safety
Employers need to look at themselves from the inside out and not only understand employee preferences but also their opinion on how well employers are meeting these needs.
Source: Morning Consult