Redefining the Employee/Employer Relationship.
These challenges are significantly impacting the employee and employer relationship as well as their ability to do their best work. While there is no one size fits all solution, organizations have an opportunity to understand and meet people where they are on an individual level.
42% of managers are experiencing stress and burn out and 77% of employees are disengaged.
The current employee/employer relationship is fractured. Most employees, from entry level to the C-suite, don’t enjoy the work they perform and lack motivation and inspiration. If they could go back in time, more than half would choose a different profession. Discretionary effort is down, and global productivity is suffering, particularly in the U.S., where productivity declined in 2023. Increasing engagement is an apt solution, but there is no one-size-fits-all quick fix. And giving everyone a raise won’t solve the problem, either. Fair pay and benefits are at the top of the list for employees’ needs, but it only accounts for 37% of what they want. The other 63% includes necessities such as transparent communication, personalized flexibility, and shared-value alignment.
From Buying and Borrowing to Building and Mining
While we are beginning to see the pendulum shift to an employer’s market, economists predict labor shortages will present a permanent market condition. At the same time, critical skills gaps are troublesome for employers, as they struggle to fill open positions.
92% of executives believe that American workers aren't as skilled as they need to be, and only 41% of employees report that they have completed training that bridged skills gaps.
Stats like this are proof that organizations must reskill and upskill their employees — their survival depends on it. With AI and other technological advancements predicted to exacerbate the skills gap, organizations are going to have to be much more creative about how they approach developing the skills of employees and promoting internally to maintain the organizations culture, boost engagement, improve retention, and save money.
The Impending ESG “Gut Check”
Intensifying political culture wars are putting businesses’ ESG initiatives under a microscope. While consumer support of ESG efforts remain strong globally, in the U.S., there is a growing political backlash to ESG efforts. The primary target of these pushbacks has been DEI&B efforts, included in the “S” part of ESG.
More than 90% of S&P 500 companies now publish ESG reports, as do approximately 70% of Russell 1000 companies.
The Impending ESG “Gut Check” is the idea that more organizations will need to stake out their authentic positions on ESG and DEI&B and stay committed, even doubling down on these efforts during challenging times.