How the Great Resignation has Benefitted Employees who have not Resigned (7 Mins Read)
As pandemic continues to bring out many of the pain points which have long been brewing amongst the employees like stress, burnout, lack of flexibility, wage and benefits dissatisfaction and much more – many employees have found themselves reaching new heights of dissatisfaction. All of these have resulted into the “great resignation”. Most of the people have discussed the great resignation in a negative light: employers have been forced to allocate excessive resources for retention and their recruitment efforts, with higher wages eating into the corporate profits and ultimately affecting the consumer with higher prices.
The Great Resignation has resulted into many benefits for the employees:
- Better benefits and compensation:
A recent survey has found the following:
Nearly half of the employees surveyed reported that their company had experienced much higher turnover than normal in the last six months.
Almost 85% of them said that openings were going vacant for much longer periods than before the pandemic.
Post the exits, more than half of the employees who stayed back said they had to take up more work and wondered if their pay was sufficient enough. The latter is quite true for the millennials and the gen Z employees, who make up the most of the current workforce.
Due to this reason the employers are now responding by increasing the pay and the other benefits in order to attract the new hires and keep the current employees on board. For example, more than half of the companies reported that beyond the usual annual hikes, they also offered higher starting salaries and wages than the last year.
- Higher flexibility:
Among the professionals who said that their company had seen higher turnover in the last six months, more than 40 percent of the companies have started new or additional remote working or flexibility options to reduce the turnover. With a majority of the companies now engaged in hybrid work, it is for this reason that where from the employees do their jobs has been such an important focal point. But the workplace benefits have come to the picture more than just the “where from the work is done.” Employees now seek value in how they do their jobs and what their jobs do for them.
It has become a job seekers’ market now, gone are the days when simply offering a position with a good pay was enough to attract and retain the top talent. To get the right employees at first and then keep them in the fold, the employers have to think out of the box of the traditional benefits.
- Personalized benefits:
Employees now presume that their benefits won’t simply be designed for satisfying the entire workforce. Instead, they expect that their benefits be highly personalized to a variety of unique needs they have. For example, nearly half of the workers rely on their employers to provide health insurance for them, but now it is no longer enough to just “offer health insurance.” So now the companies have started providing the individualized benefits as per the need of the employee.
The homogeneous benefits which aim at helping everyone equally, actually help no one ultimately in their unique and individual lives. For example, compare a married 40 year old man with three kids and a 26 year old bachelor. Although, they might have the same job at the same company, yet their needs are way different from each other regarding insurance, healthcare, retirement planning and various other factors.
On the other hand, the individualized benefits stand to have a deep impact on the people’s lives, both at work and at home. For instance, childcare benefits for those who have children, fitness class discounts for people who are looking to improve their health, sponsored mental health care or counseling for those feeling the stress.
There are business leaders who have already started adopting an empathetic approach towards the well being benefits. They have tailored the benefits with a personal touch and the employees feel heard in the way they need and desire.
- Higher referral amounts and performance bonus:
As more and more people quit their jobs during the great resignation the companies had no other option but to increase the referral bonus in order to hire for the vacant positions. More than 30 percent of the companies have implemented new or higher employee referral bonuses. Moreover, in order to prevent more attrition almost 30 percent of the companies have introduced new or higher merit increases.
- Better work life balance:
As the employees now have an option to work from their homes or anywhere they like, so there is a much better work life balance. They can spend a lot more time with their families and give more time to their children and parents and build on good relationships. They have more time left with them to pursue their hobbies and interests and enjoy their lives.
Conclusion:
Times have changed and it is the job seeker’s market now. Gone are the days when the companies used to have their ways. The reality now is that employees have a lot of different options available to them as per their needs. Those businesses that accept this reality and adapt to the new needs of the employees and fulfill those needs continue to profit. They would be able to hire good people as they offer the required benefits and succeed in the long run.