In a global labour market witnessing record-low unemployment, a recent survey by Boston Consulting Group (BCG) highlights a significant trend. It reveals that 28 per cent of workers, actively or passively seeking new opportunities, envision leaving their current employers within a year. Employers must now, more than ever, prioritise understanding their employees’ needs.
The survey encompasses responses from 11,000 employees across the US, Canada, UK, France, Germany, Australia, Japan, and India. It was conducted from 6 to 30 October, 2023.
In the survey, BCG evaluated over 20 needs, divided between functional aspects such as pay, hours, and benefits, and emotional components such as feeling valued and enjoying the work.
While employees cited functional factors such as pay as paramount when considering a job change, a simulated purchase decision revealed emotional needs infiltrating the top five considerations. Factors such as feeling fairly treated, respected, job security and enjoying the work took precedence.
Surprisingly, when correlating work attributes with employees’ intentions to stay or leave, emotional factors surpassed functional benefits. The top five influencing factors included job security, fair treatment and respect, enjoyable work, feeling valued and appreciated and feeling supported. Meeting these emotional needs emerged as crucial for retaining employees.
The survey further emphasised the pivotal role that managers play in fulfilling emotional needs. Exceptional managers correlated with a 72 per cent reduction in attrition, exhibiting the strongest influence on attrition risk globally, except in India. Beyond retention, great managers were linked to a 3.2x increase in employee motivation, a 13.9x boost in job satisfaction, and heightened feelings of inclusion.
Furthermore, the study revealed that managers significantly impact diversity, equity and inclusion goals. Employee satisfaction with managers correlated with a 36-point rise in inclusion on the BCG BLISS index.
The survey also revealed that dissatisfaction with managers doubled attrition risk. About 56 per cent of employees agreed with the same, compared to the global average of 28 per cent. Consequently, investing in upskilling managers emerged as the most impactful strategy for retaining top talent.
The next three most correlated levers for meeting employees’ emotional needs were supportive leaders, access to resources, and equal opportunity regardless of background. Employing all four levers reduced attrition risk from 28 per cent to nine per cent, underlining a fundamental shift in the employer-employee dynamic.
