Tag Archives: Great Resignation

News

Brits make up nearly 12% of all global ‘quiet quitting’ web searches

New research has revealed that the UK is a world leader when it comes to searching about ‘quiet quitting’ as the phenomenon grips the globe.

A new report from digital intelligence provider, Similarweb, has investigated the ‘quiet quitting’ revolution that first appeared on the internet in articles in March 2022. The term refers to the trend of employees doing the bare minimum at a job, rather than working extra hard and doing more than is asked of them.

Similarweb data shows that interest in ‘quiet quitting’ and related search terms (‘what is quiet quitting’, ‘quiet quitting job’ ‘quietly quitting’ and ‘quiet quitting meaning’) has skyrocketed, rising 3,334% globally in August compared July, reaching 1.2 million web searches.

When broken down country by country, the UK made up 11.8% of ‘quiet quitting’ searches, the second highest of any nation. This was well behind the United States, which made up a massive 40.9% of searches, and just ahead of Germany, which was third in the list at 9.5%.

However it’s not just ‘quiet quitting’ searches that have been on the rise. The report also revealed there has been an increase in searches for “quiet firing”, which refers to employers side-lining unproductive or problematic workers by denying them raises, promotions or challenging assignments, instead of firing them, in hopes they will quit on their own.

In August there were 16.3k searches for ‘quiet firing’, versus virtually none the month prior. While it is still very small in its overall presence on the internet, the report’s author Jim Corridore, believes it is clearly a response to “quiet quitting” trends.

Human Resources, News

HR Teams Failing to Give Employees the Experience They Want, Tivian Research Finds

Ineffective, inadequate, and generic approach to feedback accelerates Great Resignation in UK businesses

London, UK, 7 June 2022 – There’s a massive gap between the employee experience that UK staff are looking for and what’s currently provided by HR, sparking discontent and resignations, according to unsettling new research findings from Tivian, the leader in intelligent experience management.

The statistics the research discovered were stark. Failing to act is driving staff out of the door – 67% of employees said they’d be more likely to stay if employers listened and made changes based on their feedback. 85% of HR staff think they are using employee feedback to improve the experience they offer. Yet only half (50%) of staff agree. Just 14% think their employer uses feedback very effectively to drive change. With staff leaving at an increasing rate, it seems organisations have lost track of how to retain talent, implementing ineffective listening strategies that employees feel minimise their roles.

“Employee feedback programmes should be helping companies battle the Great Resignation – but the data shows that they are fundamentally broken,” said Peter Wilde, Head of Employee Experience, Tivian. “Even more worrying is that unlike staff, most HR professionals believe they are still effective. It is time to stop treating feedback as a tick box exercise and deliver a personalised, two-way approach that uses communication to motivate, keep, and get the best out of staff.

Employees feel powerless and that their bosses are out of touch with their needs. 70% of staff said they had little or no influence over how things were done at their company and 38% felt the company was rarely or never open to their ideas. While 97% wanted to work for open and transparent organisations only around half (55%) actually did. Worryingly, HR agreed – just 42% said their company “did transparency” well.

We all want to be treated as an individual. But apparently this isn’t happening at work. Only 12% of employees receive laser-targeted, personalised feedback – 88% get generic, one-size-fits-all communications that could be meant for anyone. Despite the technology they’ve got, 70% of HR staff admit that they just communicate with generic templates or on a departmental level.

HR has upped the cadence of listening programmes, with 80% asking for employee feedback on a daily, weekly, monthly, or quarterly basis. But according to the numbers, they’re not listening holistically across the employee lifecycle. Only 36% of HR teams collect feedback during recruitment, 50% during onboarding and 19% on work anniversaries. Listening at these critical moments is vital to staff feeling a “personal touch” to their work life, and to provide crucial feedback that drives improvements. Only two-thirds (62%) collect feedback when an employee resigns. Too little, too late. Doing this earlier might well prevent them leaving in the first place.

“There’s two frustrating conclusions from our study,” said Peter Wilde, Head of Employee Experience, Tivian. “Firstly, HR professionals think they’re doing a good job but clearly aren’t. And most importantly these gaps can be easily bridged if HR staff start thinking like marketers. The tools and processes are out there for the customer experience – HR need to embrace them to deliver the right employee experience. Then they’ll be giving people what they actually want and add real value to the business.”

The 2022 Tivian Experience Intelligence Report surveyed 1,000 office-based UK employees and 100 managers responsible for HR during March 2022. Download a full report on the survey results here: https://info.tivian.com/en-gb/ex-gap-research-report

News

Freelancers move from pandemic uncertainty to exploiting demand opportunity in UK

  • Initial uncertainty over finding work during the pandemic led to half of freelancers being concerned about their financial security
  • Nearly half (47%) of freelancers across the UK now seeing increased demand as a direct result of the pandemic and Great Resignation
  • Concerns remain for most vulnerable freelancers hit with higher living costs and tax rates after having to take on COVID relief grants

London, 15 February – New research from Worksome, the tech platform connecting businesses with freelancers, and IPSE, the Association of Independent Professionals and the Self-Employed, has today found that almost half of freelancers (47%) have become concerned with their financial security following the pandemic.

The Great Resignation, caused by months of remote working during the pandemic led many workers to reassess their careers, job satisfaction and resign in a large number of cases, which has had an interesting double effect on the freelance community.

Nearly half (47%) of freelancers across the UK saw an increased demand as a direct result. In terms of job roles, nearly one in six (15.8%) freelancers said that the pandemic directly led to them becoming a freelancer. Of these, almost six in 10 (57%) of former full time workers are earning more than before and nearly three quarters (74%) are happier.

The report also found that while the majority (55%) of freelancers were saving for a future period of no work during the pandemic, nearly one in ten (9%) were not saving at all. These freelancers could be particularly hard hit by higher tax rates for freelancers that have also taken on COVID relief grants on top of rising inflation and living costs.

Despite the rollout of the government’s Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS), almost a quarter (24%) of freelancers had to use most or all of their savings for everyday expenses, with nearly 1 in 5 (18%) using a credit card or overdraft to support themselves during COVID.

While 57% were still able to put aside savings for later life and retirement, 13% said debt taken on during the pandemic prevented them from saving for later life as much as they would like and 7% said debt meant they hadn’t been able to save at all.

Morten Petersen, CEO and Co-Founder, Worksome said: “While the freelance market may be buoyant again, it’s clear that the darkest days of the pandemic and lockdown will have an impact on the freelance community for years to come. It’s crucial for government, business and civil society to come together to support this group of crucial workers who were not necessarily supported as well financially during the pandemic as others. Meanwhile, unfair tax rules on COVID relief grants continue to penalise this group of often highly skilled workers who contribute £162bn to the UK economy.”

Andy Chamberlain, Director of Policy at IPSE said: “Today’s research paints a mixed picture of the self-employment landscape. While we at IPSE welcome the increase in demand and the shift from some full-time employees to freelance work, it is clear that COVID-19 has been devastating for contractors. After 11 years of continuous growth, the number of self-employed workers has fallen from 5 million in 2019 to 4.1 million in 2021. Moreover, for thousands of those that have remained as freelancers, they have lost work, fallen into debt and been severely impacted by the reforms to IR35 in April 2021.

“As we (hopefully) start to recover from the pandemic, the government needs to clear up the confusion around IR35 and help self-employed workers that have fallen into debt during lockdown.”

News

Peldon Rose Launches ‘Powered by People’ Report

With job vacancies in the UK at an all-time high, new research shows that over half of people (55%) will consider the quality of an office when it comes to taking on a new role. The findings are part of Peldon Rose’s new Powered by People report, which takes a deep dive into the way business leaders need to act in order to put their people first, and offset the impact of the ‘Great Resignation’.

The challenges being faced by businesses across the country around recruitment and retention are stark, and companies are having to work harder than ever to attract and retain the best people. Workplace design and build company Peldon Rose has been watching this shift closely over the last 18 months, and has carried out exclusive research with both the workforce and C-suite, to understand the scale of the issue and provide tangible solutions in its latest report.

This in-depth report brings together the research findings with expert insight from industry pioneers including Katy Leeson, Managing Director of Social Chain, to provide solutions to engage and invigorate the workforce. Commenting on the report, Katy said: “In order to combat the ‘Great Resignation’, businesses need to do more to offer an environment where that creative spark and energy can thrive, develop a strong culture and engage teams. A huge part of that is instating the office as the core of creativity.

“Taking action now will have a huge impact on people and will help them thrive. It will also make such a difference for business leaders when it comes to tackling a recruitment market which is intensely competitive and, quite frankly, really tough. We need to do more than ever to focus on retaining talent because the options out there for people are greater than they ever have been.”

Findings from the report also have highlighted the seismic shift in the way companies are now operating, with many having to adapt for combat challenges created by the pandemic. 60% of UK business leaders stated that their ways of working have recently evolved, including nearly half (42%) of respondents now adopting a hybrid approach to working patterns.

When looking at the drivers behind these changes, the report found that over half (55%) of business leaders have experienced a worrying drop in staff engagement as a result of working from home full-time during lockdowns. This shows just how important a physical office is, and how being in the same space as colleagues can support staff engagement and productivity – especially for collaborative work.

The results from the workforce survey reinforce what employees want from an office, with the power now firmly in their hands to dictate recruitment decisions. It is often the main physical embodiment of company culture, so it’s key that it reflects and adheres to the needs of the workforce.

According to the research, the top three design considerations for employees are: a space that supports activity and wellbeing, one with high quality technology and one that supports different styles of working. It’s choice here that’s key for the workforce though, and with greater exposure to flexible ways of working, it explains why the power is now firmly in the hands of the people.

Jitesh Patel, CEO of Peldon Rose, added: “Businesses are having to work harder than ever to both recruit and retain talent, but in order to do this, they must better understand the needs of their staff – particularly around what they want and need in order to be as productive as possible. With the power now shifting towards employees in choosing where they want to work, and all sectors of business facing the impact of the ‘Great Resignation’, it can seem like a lot to navigate for companies, and that’s where this report, Powered by People, comes in.

“Whether it’s redefining your employee value proposition to shine a light on why someone should work with you, harnessing flexible working in order to empower people, or investing in a workplace that embodies your culture; it’s vital to show your people that you value them. We hope this report provides companies with useful insight to help create a business where people choose to work, along with a shared vision that people want to work towards.”

Following the report launch, Peldon Rose will be hosting a live event at the offices of financial data analytics specialists Preqin, in London in March 2022, which will explore the ways in which companies can meet employee needs, in order to attract and retain talent. Both Katy Leeson and Peldon Rose CEO, Jitesh Patel, will share their insight and expertise during a Q&A with Sandy Lindsay, founder of leading creative communications agency, Tangerine.

To view the full Powered by People report, visit https://www.peldonrose.com/campaigns/powered-by-people/