It's been a busy old time at Stay Bright HQ. Juggling our new family dynamic with getting back into the 9-5 (or at least the freelancers version of it) is a work in progress, but one we are getting better at each day.
I've had three new clients come on board since I got back, and last week was non-stop and caffeine fuelled. Which I wasn't complaining about in the slightest!
Staying Informed
One of the things that got put to one side though, was reading through the reports I download on the likes of social media, mentoring, internet security etc. I like to try to keep my knowledge as up-to-date as possible, and make time to read reports to help that. It also forces me stop and take a breath, which I don't think is a bad thing.
This week's eye catcher was a report by LinkedIn from last month called 'New Data on Employer Brand, Marketing Talent and The Great Reshuffle', which looks at the changes in the job market as a result of Covid.
Some were exactly what you'd expect - more people working from home, a better awareness of work/life balance etc. But this report also suggested that we are now starting to add more 'why' into our analysis of work.
Our expectations as employees are changing, with people not only looking at the job role, but identifying the reasons for them to work somewhere. We don't just want to know what we'll be doing, we want to know more about what employers are going to do to attract and look after us. How we feel within a job role has taken on a new importance.
The Impact of Wellbeing
Employee happiness was down 3.5% globally from October 2020 to October 2021. Thinking about your wellbeing at work has been pushed to the forefront. And people aren't scared to make a move if they don't think they are being looked after, with job changing up 37% over the course of that year.
Some of the other stats aren't surprising. Employees who feel cared for at work are 3.2 times more likely to be happy at work, with the likelihood of this increasing by 35% since the onset of the pandemic. They are also 3.7 times more likely to recommend working for their company as a result, with the likelihood of that increasing by 49% since the start of the Covid pandemic.
The importance of wellbeing has been an increasingly important factor within the workplace in recent years. But the pandemic, and working from home, has given it a significant boost over the last two years. Get it wrong, and staff won't hesitate to move on. And on a lesser level, it could have a big impact on productivity.
How does that translate to employers? What do they need to do to keep those they work with? What support structures do they need to put in place?
That's going to be different within each company or organisation. But understanding their employees and what is important to them is going to be crucial to retention.