The gap is widening between the Employee Experience of "the 80%" and their corporate counterparts!

💡The difference between the experience of corporate employees and that of “the 80%” presents a major challenge for organizations.

☝️ "The 80%" don't have the same opportunities, autonomy, influence, or voice as others in the workplace. And this fact explains how perceptions held by the 80% are so different from those of more corporate employees when it comes to their employee experience.

💥Organizations that combine proactivity with perseverance, and approach change with a greater focus on people, can expect to weather storms and consistently emerge stronger.

One key element of cultures that feel supportive and genuine is employee recognition. When people believe they are seen and valued, they can be more confident the organization is implementing change with them in mind, according to a new interesting research published by O.C. Tanner using data from more than 42,000 employees, leaders, HR practitioners, and executives from 27 countries worldwide.

✅Culture has shifted over the past year: The 6 essential elements that define thriving cultures

Researchers measure every year, changes in the six core elements of workplace culture that together determine employee decisions to join, engage with, and remain at any place of work and they called them "Talent Magnets" because of their power to attract and connect people to their teams and organizations.

Researchers found that almost all talent magnet scores feel slightly year over year. Taken separately, Talent Magnet scores haven’t changed much - all except purpose fell by only one percentage point over the last year.

As they track other cultural metrics, researchers find the same lack of movement in employee engagement. Geographically, IMEA scores the highest and Europe the lowest on all culture measures except for wellbeing. The Americas report the highest wellbeing score for employees. From one perspective, recent challenges appear to have had a minimal negative impact. But from another, not a single culture score has improved.

✅The 6 six possible shifts for 2024

Researchers believed that there is six possible shifts that are well worth organizations’ proactive attention:

1. A culture of nimble resilience

HR leaders can help their cultures become more adaptable and innovative.

2. Equitable flexibility for all employees

People now expect greater flexibility in when, where, and how they work. And without it, they’re more likely leave an employer

3. Practical, empathetic leadership

Empathy is often loosely defined and implemented without training or boundaries, resulting in “empathy fatigue” among leaders and coworkers.

4. Awareness of the 80% experience

Employees in the 80% are critical to operations, yet they report being overlooked and undervalued. Many feel disconnected from their organization, suffer from high burnout and attrition, and express resignation to unfulfilling work experiences due to lack of support, opportunity, and voice.

5. Improved skill-building programs

Also known as upskilling, this popular business trend is growing as employees seek new opportunities and education, and as organizations strive to improve retention.

6. More effective change management

Over the past three years, the rapidly evolving work environment has taken a toll on morale, wellbeing, and turnover..

✅Who are "The 80%" of employees?

Researchers looked at "the 80%" in two ways:

1️⃣ Employees who spend less than 40% of the workday sitting at a desk to do their work, and

2️⃣ Employees who lack regular access to technology and tools like email, messaging apps, and online HR systems in their normal job duties.

When looking at the widening gap between the employee experience of "the 80%" and their corporate counterparts:

✔️Workers in the 80% category are nearly 2x as likely as their corporate peers to feel they had no options when they accepted their jobs

✔️Only 35% feel they have freedom to take time away from work for personal errands (compared to 58% of corporate workers)

✔️ Only 45% say their organization supports them in learning new skills at work (compared to 69% of corporate workers)

✔️Half (50%) of "the 80%" feel expendable at work; only 30% feel seen and valued.

✔️Nearly two of every five in "the 80%" say they are viewed as inferior by employees in the office. Almost as many (35%) report senior leaders minimize or dismiss their ideas, and 39% say their work is not valued as highly as office work.

✔️Only 10% of these employees feel they have high access to the tools, technology, and opportunities necessary to connect and advance in their workplace and the autonomy and voice to shape their workplace experience.

✔️ Even more alarming, only 17% of employees with low access and enablement are engaged.

✅How "the 80%" can Thrive in their organizations?

Researchers found that to help engage, connect, and meet the needs of the 80%, organizations must improve access and enablement, promote modern leadership, and provide meaningful recognition:

1️⃣ Leaders need to know their people better

Understanding what matters to employees at work and what causes stress in their lives is imperative. Train and enable the leaders of every team in the organization to take the time, listen to opinions and feedback, and be more conscious of needs and challenges.

2️⃣ Recognize the 80% often and in meaningful ways

The simple act of seeing the 80% and showing appreciation for their contributions and great work can make a big difference.

3️⃣ Improve access to technology, resources, autonomy, and voice

Despite diverse demographics, the 80% report needing greater access to technology and opportunity, as well as more autonomy in their work.

📍Finally researchers conclude that the future of change management focuses on people. A strong culture is the foundation of a people-centered approach to change. Organizations must empower leaders at all levels to help teams manage change. Employees want transparent communication and a voice in the change process. By fostering cultures of resilience, empathy, and meaningful appreciation, we can ensure our employees and organizations benefit from every change that awaits us.

Thank you 🙏 O.C. Tanner researchers team for these insightful findings:

Mindi Cox Alexander Lovell, PhD Daniel Patterson Cristen Dalessandro, PhD Christopher Berry David Petersen Gary Beckstrand and all cited persons in this report: Lisa Bodell Matt Peacock

Dave Ulrich George Kemish LLM MCMI MIC MIoL

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