Be afraid. Be very afraid.
That's the message in a new ADP report, "Evolution of Work 2.0: The Me vs. We Mindset," which finds not only are employees seeking greener pastures in increasing numbers — with 27 percent changing jobs annually and 63 percent of workers on the prowl, both actively and passively, for new employment opportunities — employers are underestimating the problem.
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Employers have held the advantage for some time, but that's been changing as the job market tightens. And although employers are nervous, overall, about finding and keeping good employees, they don't fully appreciate how different their views of work are from their employees' perception of the job.
While employees are more focused on their work environment, seeking meaning in their jobs and looking for immediate advancement opportunities (the "me" mindset of the report's title), employers are more concerned with the bigger company picture, paying more attention to such elements as financial performance, reputation, and long-term career pathing (the "we" mindset).
And that disparity is playing out in an improving labor market on the field of employee retention, with job-hopping at an all-time high.
Not only are employees looking elsewhere, they're not even necessarily looking for more money, with 46 percent of respondents saying they'd consider a job that matched their current salary or even paid less.
Related: A closer look at job hopping
And a 13 percent pay raise would woo employees away from their current job — while 47 percent of workers say they've already walked away from a job that didn't meet their expectations.
The report indicates 17 percent of employees are actively looking and 46 percent are passively looking for new jobs, but bosses don't see it that way at all: Employers overestimate how many of their employees are actively looking at 26 percent, while underestimating how many are passively looking at 23 percent. And that can be a recipe for disaster.
"ADP's economic reports on employment and wages show if employers can't meet the needs of their employees they can easily look for new jobs elsewhere," Jan Siegmund, chief financial officer, ADP, said in a statement.
Siegmund added, "In addition, employers face a perfect storm of sorts when it comes to keeping top talent. While they focus on efforts to be an employer of choice, face paying higher wages, and more, their employees can use technologies that make it easy to essentially browse for new job opportunities."
And although 60 percent of employers believe employees often hear about new job openings within the company, only about 30 percent of employees say they actually do. Failure to promote in-house opportunities can certainly offer incentive to employees looking to move up — or move out.
In addition to higher pay, employees are seeking work-life balance and meaningful career development — promises often made during recruitment, but which don't materialize to employees' satisfaction over the course of their employment.
And then there's the issue of training itself. Only a third of U.S. employees give their companies high marks on career performance, learning management, and succession planning — and that's despite the fact that 77 percent of U.S. midsized employers provide employee training programs.
Of course, with only 40 percent of employees participating in those programs, employers should ask themselves whether the programs' quality is adequate, and whether the training is offered in topics about which employees want to learn.
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