A PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) global survey of more than 52,000 employees in 44 countries suggests that the Great Resignation will continue, with one in five saying they are likely to leave their current employer in the next 12 months.
PwC released its “Global Workforce Hopes and Fears Survey 2022” at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, citing higher pay, more job fulfillment, and wanting to be “truly themselves” at work as factors driving workers to change jobs. The report paints a clear picture of an employees’ market, with 35% of respondents reporting plans to ask their employers for compensation increases in the next year.
“If those people feel they have the skills, they are more confident to ask for new and different opportunities, they are more confident . . . to have a conversation about total rewards packages, they are more confident in terms of the purpose that they believe they are fulfilling,” said Bob Moritz, Global Chairman of PwC, at the forum.
The tech sector shows the greatest pressure for greater compensation, with 44% of respondents indicating they plan to ask for a raise, relative to only 25% of the public sector saying they plan to do likewise. Industries such as healthcare, technology, telecommunications, and media had the highest proportion of respondents who reported feeling that their skills are scarce.
The report shed light on additional differences in the workplace, with specialized workers reporting higher job satisfaction than those with skills that are not scarce, and workers 18-25 indicating they are less satisfied with their roles and more concerned that technology will replace their jobs in the next three years relative to workers aged 58-76. Gender differences were also highlighted, with women being 7% less likely to say they are fairly compensated and 8% less likely to feel that their managers listen to them relative to their male counterparts.
While greater pay is the leading factor for a job change, PwC claims that finding fulfillment at work is almost as important, with 71% of respondents saying a pay increase would motivate them to leave their current job, relative to 69% indicating that better job fulfillment would prompt a move.
With the current unemployment rate sitting at a pre-pandemic level of 3.6%, it appears that workers will continue to hold an advantage in the employment market for the time being. Companies seeking to retain their workforces and attract top talent would do well to keep these factors in mind as the rest of 2022 plays out.
