Spherion: What Do Employees Want?
What Do Employees Want?
Over the Wire: A Researcher's Perspective on Current Events
November 4, 2009
Post by Allison Dickin, Public Affairs Research
Do you ever feel as though the people in charge at your place of work (bosses, owners, or top executives) just don’t understand what really matters to employees? Well, according to research conducted on behalf of Spherion Corporation this past February and March, you might be right.
This research surveyed both employers and employees and found that these groups have very different views of what matters most to employees. While employers are more likely to believe that supervisor relationships and a company’s management climate are important to employees (84% consider each to be important), these items don’t reach the top of the list among employees.
In fact, the 3 factors employees most commonly consider important are all related to compensation (benefits-76%; financial compensations-75%; growth & earnings potential-66%). While most employers to recognize benefits as being important to employees (79%), financial compensation is far lower on employers’ lists, ranking 6th out of 8 items, in terms of the percentage of employers who see this as important to their workforce.
What does this mean? It’s tough to say in this economy. While we’ve started to see signs of improvement, job losses continue to be in the hundreds of thousands each month. What employees want may not be a priority for employers struggling to keep their businesses afloat, or for employees who are happy they still have jobs. But as things continue to improve and the competition to attract the most talented workers heats up among employers, these issues may rise to the forefront again.
What is most important to you in a job? Does your relationship with your supervisor matter most, or are salary and benefits more important? Do you feel that your employer is doing enough in these areas?
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