When asked directly what would drive them to take a new job, employees’ answers are focused on functional factors, with pay the overwhelming top choice, followed by benefits and perks, work/life balance, work they enjoy and care about, and better career learning opportunities, finds a survey of 11,000 employees from eight countries (US, Canada, UK, France, Germany, Australia, Japan, and India) conducted by Boston Consulting Group (BCG).
BCG tested over 20 different needs, with roughly half being functional needs such as pay, hours, and benefits, and the other half being emotional needs such as feeling valued and supported, and doing work you enjoy, for the survey, titled “What Really Matters At Work, And Why We Should Care”.
The data shows there is an urgent need for employers around the world to help their employees find the right balance between functional drivers such as pay and job hours, versus emotional factors such as workplace respect, fairness, and recognition, says Neetu Chitkara, MD and partner & she leads people and organisational practice, BCG India.
According to the company's analysis of the survey data, the most powerful lever for delivering emotional needs is managers. They have the most influence over their employees’ day-to-day experiences — whether positive or negative. In fact, great managers are associated with a 72% reduction in attrition when comparing employees who are very satisfied with their managers with those who are very unsatisfied. This