There is a major disconnect between executives and their employees, and nearly 45 per cent of workers are ready to leave their current job, according to a new report.
The 2023 Kelly Global Re:work report involved a survey of 1,500 senior executives and 4,200 workers across 11 countries and nine sectors.
The report found that most companies are failing to meet the growing needs of their workers, and there is a problematic disconnect between managers and their employees.
The survey found that more than two in five, or 44 per cent, of workers are prepared to leave their current job within the next 12 months.
And just under a third of these workers said they are “very likely” to leave their work within the year.
The reasons behind this were primarily a lack of work-life balance, and a lack of skills development and career progression opportunities.
But executives mistakenly said they believe the reason behind this is largely down to compensation.
This typifies a general disconnect the survey found between executives and employees.
“It is a warning to employers: having made progress through the pandemic and the Great Resignation, they now risk slipping backward on engagement,” the report said.
The report found that managers and executives need to do better at listening to their employees.
“Our two surveys highlight a perception gap between what executives believe their organisations are doing for employees and what they are actually doing – for instance in supporting work-life balance and mental health,” the report said.
“Having come through the crisis years of the pandemic, you will need to reset your conversations with employees and use every available channel of communication to listen to what really matters to them, and then act accordingly.”
These findings follow a report late last year that found a “clear gap” between the experiences of senior executives and more junior employees in the same companies.
The report found that 55 per cent of senior and executive leaders said their expectations are being met at work, while only 33 percent of manager and junior-level employees felt the same.
The Kelly Global Re:work report also found that managers are not doing enough to support their employees, contributing to the likelihood of them leaving.
Less than half of those surveyed said they are doing more to support the wellbeing of their employees compared with a year ago, and more than 20 per cent said that employee wellbeing and satisfaction has decreased over the same period.
There is also a “diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) fatigue” taking place among many of the people surveyed. According to the report, 45 per cent of executives acknowledged that their DEI strategy isn’t adequately supporting underrepresented groups, while fewer than one in five executives say that their organisation has a clear route for reporting discrimination at work.
Quiet quitting, the notion of working your allotted hours and then checking out from work, is still prevalent three years after the onset of the pandemic, with just under half of the executives reporting being impacted by this trend, and 40 per cent of workers saying they have been or are currently quiet quitting.
Numerous reports have found that Australians are more than willing to change jobs this year, with the COVID-19 pandemic bringing a change in attitude to work for many. An Allianz Australia report late last year found that nearly two million Australians may leave their job in 2023.
