Shedding Light On What Employees Value And Today's Workplace Dynamics
eLearning Industry's recent study and its surprising findings were featured in Money Review, a leading business and financial publication in Greece. We wanted to give our community the chance to delve into the insights, as well. So, without further ado, we bring you Part 1 of the translated publication.
The pandemic has changed life on planet Earth—possibly forever. The effects of this new normal extend as far as the workplace. In our efforts to deal with this deadly virus and the multifaceted anxiety it caused us, we barricaded ourselves in our homes, where all activities of everyday life (including work) were now taking place.
During that time, millions of people reassessed their lives and revised their priorities. Proof of that was two worldwide phenomena:
- The Great Resignation: The mass exit was related to various reasons, but principally to toxic corporate culture, insecurity, inadequate recognition, and endless work hours.
- Quiet quitting: Younger generations honor their wage to the max by not doing anything more than what was agreed upon, thus refusing to sacrifice their work-life balance, since they feel they have nothing to gain from it.
The Research That Confirms The New Normal
eLearning Industry wanted to dive into the reasons why employees develop feelings of incompletion and futility. This company was named one of the Best Workplaces in Greece for 2022 by the Great Place To Work Institute in Greece, which assesses work environments based on the most credible methodology model.
The company conducted research on 1200 US employees working in five industries: retail, hospitality, finance and insurance, healthcare, and manufacturing and technology. The subject of the research was corporate culture, "a term that is defined as the collection of values, goals, behaviors, and practices, the sum of which form a significant determinant of business success. In one word, a company's ethos," as the research states.
The objective was to shed light on how we can change this negativity in order to benefit everyone: employees and employers alike.
Lessons From The Pandemic
The largest community and knowledge-sharing platform in the world for L&D and HR professionals witnessed its number of monthly users soar to over 1,000,000 after the outbreak of the pandemic.
With remote work becoming the new reality, "people began searching all relevant information about something that was unknown to most up to that point (virtual training, remote solutions, hybrid learning, and so on). Thus, eLearning Industry became the prime destination for information regarding the benefits and drawbacks of each situation," explains Christopher Pappas, founder of eLearning Industry.
"We noticed an increase in the number of businesses that were interested in bettering their workforce through Learning and Development programs, as they realized that this was the secret to improving corporate culture, increasing employee satisfaction, and decreasing overall costs."
It's not a coincidence that projections estimate that the online learning market value will reach 325,000,000,000 dollars in 2025.
Digital Life Is Here To Stay: Keep Your Employees Happy
The faster leadership recognizes that the 9-to-5 workday is a thing of the past, the more favorable the future will be for their companies. In this research, employees expressed that they want to use digital tools, which they utilized to the max while working remotely, as much as possible, as they help them achieve greater speed, accuracy, and efficiency in the workplace. 33% of employees state that their employer doesn't offer them an appropriate work environment, while 44% declare that mandatory on-site working will prevent companies from hiring and retaining talented employees.
Half of the tech employees believe that working in the office will prevent companies from attracting talent, while a large majority stated that they would rather use any technological tool available, such as virtual meeting tools, Learning and Development programs with virtual instructors, simulations, and more, as they believe that would increase diversity and inclusion in their company. "Hiring the most talented candidates, regardless of whether they can be in the office every day, is what will elevate organizations to a whole new level," concludes Christopher Pappas.
Editor's Note: Read Part 2 of the article, which highlights 5 tips to make life easier for your employees. We also invite you to download The Future Of Work Report 2022: Culture Trends And What Employees Want to explore the dynamics between leadership and employees regarding company culture. It also delves into what employees genuinely value today and how they feel employers are doing when it comes to designing a great workplace.
