understaffed,” Ruehlman says. “Support people are feeling overworked and stressed out. On the sales side business is booming again, but staff was likely cut during the pandemic and not replaced. Salespeople are feeling the stress of taking onmany of the support tasks which take away time from selling and their bottom line. “I think everyone is feeling burnout from the extra effort it took to survive the last couple of years and now looking for relief. If they don’t see their company making the effort toward correcting that, then they are looking.” YMCAWorkWell’s survey looked closer at employees’ decisions to leave and found that their sense of well-being can play a significant factor. The organization’s earlier research, the 2021 YMCA WorkWell Workplace Well-Being Report, identified workload and burnout as clear challenges to employee well-being going into 2022, and its most recent survey identified a similar trend. YMCAWorkWell asked survey respondents to share their reaction to the statement “Thinking back on the last three months, I feel as thoughmy workload has been a significant source of stress for me inmy role.” • Results show that 65% “agree” or “strongly agree,” 17% “neither agree or disagree,” and 19% “disagree” or “strongly disagree.” • Quizzing participants on burnout, it found that 45% experience burnout “often or extremely often,” 31% experience it “sometimes” and 24% experience it “rarely” or “not at all.” • Among those considering leaving their job, almost half, 44% described themselves as burned out. Retention The Great Resignation has drivenmany businesses to reexamine what they offer their employees. Workplace flexibility, meaningful work and support for health and well-being were some of the most powerful draws for employees inMcKinsey’s survey, for example. YMCAWorkWell suggests that turnover risks drop substantially when an employee feels appreciated. Only 15% of employees who feel appreciated at work are looking to leave their positions in the next six months. Even among “burned out” employees, appreciation goes a long way – 19% of employees who face “chronic workplace stress” but also feel that they are valued on the job are planning to leave, compared to 65%who don’t feel valued. “The Great Resignation has sharpened our focus on the holistic value proposition of choosing to work for HPG,” says Anderson. “Whether it be increased benefits such as a generous health insurance and retirement plans – or hybrid/work-from-home flexibility, we continue to evolve tomeet the changing needs and expectations of our teammembers.” HPG is not alone in assessing what it offers its employees. OrderMyGear is working to better understand its employees’ motivations, what drives them to stay at the company and their perspectives on areas of opportunity. “We’ve accomplished this by gathering their perspectives throughmonthly surveys and interviews,” says Rozkin. “This helps us get ahead of matters before they become issues.” Earlier in 2022, OrderMyGear provided raises approximately three times its normal budgets and put career pathing and coaching/development plans in place. Rozkin says, “This helps us ensure there’s proper career pathing for roles across the organization so employees are clear on what’s next and what it will take to get there. We have also continued to invest in our culture and build a strong sense of community through employee-led culture events, company-wide events like office Olympics, and encouraging people leaders to get outside of the office with their teams, like lunches and group activities.” Khattak is a news editor at PPAI. Should I Stay Or Should I Go? Business consultancy McKinsey has grouped those that leave their jobs during the Great Resignation into three broad groups: • Almost half (48%) of those who quit are going to positions in different industries. And this isn’t affecting all industries in the same way—talent is draining excessively from some and others are challenged to bring in new workers. Some sectors have both problems. • Many employees who quit go into nontraditional roles like gig or part-time work or start their own businesses. While about half (47%) return to the workforce, only 29% resume full-time work in the traditional sense. • Some leave the workforce to focus on other areas of their lives – caring for children or elderly, or even themselves. This group may have stepped out of the labor pool entirely. | OCTOBER 2022 | 75
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