In economic uncertainty, businesses must focus on employee well-being and satisfaction to thrive. Joel Raper, SVP of Unisys, says organizations can cultivate a productive and thriving digital workplace by aligning with employee values and needs, fostering employee loyalty and resilience in economic challenges.
As economic growth slows and recession fears linger, business leaders must prepare and ensure that any plans they have in place benefit the long-term health of their company, including how to provide job security. Unisys’ recent studyOpens a new window in partnership with HFS Research offers C-Suite insights into hybrid work in the age of adaptability, including what employees will and won’t give up to keep their jobs should their organization be forced to conduct layoffs. Simply put, employees care more about their quality of life than their job title.
Despite spending less time at the office, today’s workforce still highly values the employee experience. The data also indicated that employees are unwilling to cede perks significantly impacting their way of life, like health care or a portion of their pay. But they are willing to give up some “extras,†such as company stock options or, surprisingly, a promotion. These employee insights can help spare employers’ and employees’ dreaded layoffs and provide crucial actions employers can take to create and maintain a productive, efficient, and vibrant digital workplace, regardless of economic conditions.
Employees Won’t Give Up Their Quality of Life
The workforce most values benefits like compensation, privacy, and well-being — all key contributors to quality of life — with an emphasis on compensation. Seventy-nine percent of employees wouldn’t give up a portion of their salaries, which is understandable due to the price hikes from inflation. Money is also a motivating factor for those uncertain about returning to the office. Over 60% of employees who prefer working all or most of the time remotely said a salary increase would draw them back to the office — an important fact to consider if debating reducing your organization’s real estate footprint to cut overhead costs.Â
What is shocking is finding employees value the privacy of data more than health benefits. Sixty-nine percent of employees are unwilling to give up the privacy of data collected at work, far more than those unwilling to forgo health benefits. While data privacy is particularly important to employees, 92% would be willing to share their data, such as app, device, and network usage and performance, to improve IT support. This highlights the value employees place on enhancing their digital workplace experience.
Health care remains one of the most valued benefits for employees. Fifty percent of workers would not even consider giving it up to maintain their jobs. Of the employees considering giving up their employer-sponsored health care benefit, only 18% would do so outright. Health care benefits provide employees peace of mind, which is vital to a good quality of life.Â
Vacation time is also critical. Over half of the employees wouldn’t give up a portion of theirs, which tracks the workforce’s shift to a greater emphasis on work-life balance during the pandemic. Like pay and health benefits, the ability to recharge with vacation time is something that has a significant impact on an employee’s physical and mental health. When employees can take a break, they come back refreshed, focused, and more productive. Without a pause, employees can become exhausted and feel underappreciated, resulting in dissatisfaction that erodes a positive employee experience.Â
See More: 3 Ways AI Can Improve Employee Satisfaction.
Employees Will Give up Some Benefits, but Leaders Must Cautiously Make Cuts
While employees may be willing to give up “extras,†the C-Suite must be mindful of how much they roll back so it doesn’t negatively impact the employee experience. Nearly one-third of employees would give up the freedom to work from home, and another third would consider it. However, one-third of employees would not be willing to cede their ability to work from home, demonstrating employees’ expectations for a hybrid or fully remote work environment. Businesses must continue to prioritize flexibility and digital workplace solutions.Â
Technology is the other critical piece of the employee experience puzzle that impacts customer satisfaction. One-quarter of employees said they would give up company-supplied technology, while another 43% said they’d consider it. Organizations should only eliminate it as a last resort since it brings value to businesses: 62% of employees who feel more engaged than six months ago say access to technology is highly motivating. Energized workers are productive, benefiting business outcomes.Â
See More: Burnout and Job Satisfaction: Why Technology Could Be at the Center
Making cuts to benefits where they hurt the least for employees is also beneficial to companies, especially when a surplus of job openings could compel employees to look elsewhere. Organizations should first consider cutting their stock programs since three-quarters of employees would give them up or consider doing so. While employees oppose pay cuts, 64% would consider or outright give up a promotion.Â
Three Actions to Build a Successful Employee Experience Program
Even in an economic downturn, employee experience is vital to the success of any organization. The workforce is more invested in the benefits that will directly impact their everyday lives, so companies must recognize employee experience initiatives; their input and comfort are essential to them. Companies can take the following three actions to build and maintain successful employee experience programs.
1. Gather and leverage employee insights
Learning what is and isn’t important to your team is critical to employee satisfaction and retention. Applying these insights to your plan and communicating it can help ease employee concerns and bolster retention. Employees who believe a company is in trouble or layoffs are coming may be more willing to leave a job.
2. Information technology (IT) and human resource (HR) teams must work closely
Leaders need to constantly identify and evaluate projects and priorities that can drive improved employee experiences. Data can be leveraged to understand employee pain points and fix them. Ensuring seamless technology performance both in the office and remotely is essential for the employee experience and benefits the business because employees can focus on important tasks. IT and HR alignment is also critical for creating and maintaining future work plans, giving leaders and employees peace of mind. According to the survey findings, organizations must demonstrate that they value privacy as part of any employee experience initiative, especially since it is essential to many employees.
3. Implement organizational change managementÂ
Organizational change management (OCM) can differentiate between success and failure. By implementing this structured process, companies can increase employee engagement and satisfaction. To ensure smooth adoption and long-term success, leaders must:
- Tailor messaging to various positions and levels of seniority.
- Sell the benefit of the change.
- Incentivize employees to adopt the change.Â
- Embed training within the new platform when possible.
- Measure performance and adjust as needed.
Regardless of the state of the economy, a quality employee experience sets companies apart, boosts employee satisfaction, and drives productivity. Employees care much more about maintaining their quality of life than the “extras†a workplace can provide. Organizations need to identify and understand what employees value most – keeping a finger on the pulse of employee sentiment better positions a company to react to changes quickly while maintaining employee satisfaction.
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