Survey: One in Five Employees Want New Job In 2016

According a survey from CareerBuilder, 21% of employees are pledging to leave their current employers in 2016, up from 16% last year. Employers with large millennial populations are at even greater risk with 30% of millennials expecting to have a new job by the end of 2016, compared to 23% last year. With experts estimating that it can cost twice as much as an employee’s salary to recruit, hire, and train a new worker, the financial impact of these challenges are very real.

Turnover costs is why a 2015 Deloitte survey (Global Human Capital Trends 2015) of more than 3,300 human resource leaders in 106 countries found that “culture and engagement” was viewed as the most important challenge facing companies. Employers can easily replicate another company’s compensation or benefits package, but it is much harder to replicate company culture. As a result, company culture and employee engagement are widely being recognized as highly defensible competitive advantages in the competition for talent.

Employee wellness is not the cure for strong culture and engagement, but it is certainly part of the recipe (fitness programs and points-based rewards are the number one employee-requested digital engagement solution). Culture-focused programs do not include traditional employee wellness (biometrics screenings, health risk assessments, etc.). Rather, these wellness programs are the type that focus on opportunities to strengthen relationships within the workplace while improving health. Employers that will overcome the human capital management challenges of today will employ a multi-faceted approach to making their worksites enjoyable.

Another interesting finding from the survey was top New Year’s Resolutions from employees. Below are some highlights.

• Save more of my pay: 38% (vs. 42% last year)
• Be less stressed: 28% (vs. 34% last year)
• Get a raise or promotion: 26% (vs. 26% last year)
• Eat healthier at work: 19% (vs. 25% last year)
• Learn something new (take more courses, training, seminars): 17% (vs. 22% last year)

Employee wellness programs can be very helpful with stress management and healthier eating at work, which is just another reason why employers need to include employee health as part of their culture and engagement strategy.