Employee discontent expected to reach crisis level next year

Employee turnover is expected to rise next year as a new survey shows that many workers are unhappy with their present jobs. Sixty per cent of employees intend to leave and an additional one in four are networking and updating their resumes, according to research from Right Management. Right Management is the talent and career management expert within Manpower, the global leader in employment services.

Right Management surveyed more than 900 workers throughout North America and asked: Do you plan to pursue new job opportunities as the economy improves in 2010?

  • 60 per cent - Yes, I intend to leave
  • 21 per cent - Maybe, so I’m networking
  • 6 per cent - Not likely, but I’ve updated my resume
  • 13 per cent - No, I intend to stay

“The study may provide a barometer of employee engagement in the workplace with findings that alarm and surprise employers,” says Dr. Henryk Krajewski, vice president and national practice leader for Right Management. “Employees may be expressing their frustration with how they have been treated during the downturn. While employers may have taken the necessary steps to streamline operations to remain viable, it appears many employees may have felt neglected in the process. The result is a disgruntled workforce.”

Krajewski cautions that even engaged employees are aware of opportunities elsewhere and that the best workers are mobile in any economy. “We know through our recent global research study that people are always attracted by career development opportunities, attaining work/life balance, or working for a company with an innovative culture. If management doesn’t provide employees with such opportunities, then workers are going to take their knowledge and skills elsewhere. Talented staff can change jobs because they can and want to, not because they have to,” Krajewski says.

“As leaders, we need to accommodate new values shifts, unique demands, and provide a compelling value proposition to employees that is in synch with the business strategy to ensure high levels of productivity and performance,” he notes.  “An integrated, customized and flexible talent strategy is critical to stem the alarming levels of employee turnover anticipated next year.”

Right Management surveyed 904 employees in North America via an online poll. The survey ran between October 19 and November 5, 2009.