Mumbai, 9 December, 2022: Standing at the threshold of the future of work, The Workforce Institute at UKG, which provides research and education on critical workplace issues facing organizations around the world, surveyed employees and leaders across 10 countries to get a pulse of how they really feel about their jobs. According to the results, India ranked the highest with 66% of employees stating that they wouldn’t recommend their profession to their children or any young person that they care about, while 67% wouldn’t recommend their employers.
The full report, “We Can Fix Work,” provides insight into what parents, family members, and mentors are telling children about what they should value in their jobs and employers — urging future generations to let purpose, not money, guide career choices.
It found that on a global scale, nearly half (46%) of employees would not recommend their company nor their profession to their children or a young person they care about, and a startling 38% “wouldn’t wish my job on my worst enemy.”
“Employees and leaders alike, as has been found in this report, prioritise finding meaning in their work more than making money. We have to realise that with these shifting times, we are navigating towards a generation of workers who don’t necessarily rely on their job for survival: instead their work is more personal to them in terms of adding value to their lives, and fuelling their existing passions,” said Neil J Solomon, vice president, Asia Pacific and Latin America at UKG. “For a workforce such as this, we need to develop a workplace culture that nourishes and nurtures the overall development of its employees, takes care of their physical as well as mental wellbeing, appreciates their efforts, and maintains a mutual sense of respect with individuals at different levels of the organisation irrespective of hierarchies. This, right here, is the beginning of the future of work and employee centricity is at the heart of it.”
Workforce burnout: 45% of employees worldwide don’t want to work anymore, period
There has been a recent rise in the anti-work mindset, globally, owing to the pandemic as 77% of employees around the world want to spend less time working and more time doing things that matter to them. Amongst the C-suite leaders, it is the younger leaders that are ready to bow out of work completely, especially those belonging to the Gen Z (58%), who say they don’t want to work anymore. When compared to the C-suite leaders who are soon to be retiring from their jobs, 36% of the Millennial leaders and 33% of the Gen X leaders are ready to not work anymore. Therefore, a disinclination towards work is a phenomenon that is being observed across the ranks of employees and leaders alike.
Too much overtime affects the employee-employer relationship
If employees tend to work overtime more than twice per week, it strains their relationship with the employer and they’re even less likely to recommend their jobs or their companies to the next generation. This is evidenced by the more than half (58%) of employees, globally, who work overtime 3-4 times per week who wouldn’t recommend their profession to kids. 60% wouldn’t recommend the organisation. The report distinctly shows that more money does not equate to job satisfaction for individuals, as most people have a transactional relationship with work and only 23% of employees genuinely enjoy their work and are passionate about it. In fact, 64% of them would switch jobs right now if they could.
With purpose and trust, 88% of employees look forward to work
Now more than ever, companies must prioritise the wellbeing of their employees, not just for better outcomes in the present, but for their long-term sustainability in the future. Employees in India topped the global charts with a staggering 89% saying that they are committed in their pursuit of greater purpose at work — most of any country surveyed.
What does great look like?
Great Place To Work research finds people at the best workplaces around the world are living in a vastly different — and more fulfilling — reality than the typical employee, starting with the sense of purpose they find in their work. For those at the best workplaces:
90% feel like they can be themselves
88% look forward to going to work
85% believe their work has special meaning
85% enjoy psychologically healthy work environments
What’s more, rather than warn loved ones away, 89% of people at these best workplaces would “strongly endorse” their organizations to friends and family.
The full report, “We Need to Fix Work,” examines feedback from 2,200 employees surveyed in partnership with Workplace Intelligence across Australia, Canada, France, Germany, India, Mexico, New Zealand, the Netherlands, the U.K., and the U.S., as well as 600 C-suite leaders and 600 HR executives in the U.S.
