New report: Employers prioritize career wellbeing to drive engagement
Currently, about 60% of employers either agree or strongly agree that their employees are highly engaged, which represents a 3% rise over the last three years.
A new report from insurance company Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. gives statistical insights into the increasingly revered topic of career wellbeing. According to the study, more than a third of employers place more importance on career wellbeing in 2024 than they did last year.
Employers’ interest in career wellbeing is quite straightforward: Career development is now understood to be a leading driver of engagement and retention. Currently, about 60% of employers either agree or strongly agree that their employees are highly engaged, which represents a 3% rise over the last three years. Employer interest in engagement has unsurprisingly correlated with their use of surveys on the topic. In the past year, 58% of employers used surveys to figure out workforce engagement, a 7% rise of the previous year.
There are different ways to increase employee engagement, some easier than others. The study’s authors highlight trust in senior leadership as a key predictor of workforce engagement, saying that it “contributes to a positive organizational culture and creates a foundation of respect, fairness, and integrity”. Career development opportunities also highly influence engagement and retention, yet only 35% of surveyed employers reported increasing importance on career development in the past year.
Progress checkpoints and positive recognition are both good tools to make employees fell more supported and boost their performance. According to the study, 81% of employers offer service or employee recognition awards, up from 75% in 2023. 41% of employers reported making a concerted effort to provide timely and constructive feedback, and 40% officially recognize superior performance.
Related: What does “employee engagement” even mean?
Along with employee engagement, employers increasingly recognize DEI to be a core part of career wellbeing. However, unlike with employee engagement, there is far less consensus on how best to obtain DEI goals.
DEI training programs increasingly focus on three issues: non-discrimination and regulatory compliance (67%, up 3 points), embracing differences in the workplace (51%, up 3 points), and overcoming unconscious bias (49%, up 4 points). Other notable DEI training topics were how to effectively manage diverse groups of people (33%, up 4 points), and how to embed inclusive behaviors into every role (23%, up 2 points).