Lindon — BambooHR, the industry’s leading cloud-hosted software provider dedicated to powering the strategic evolution of human resources, released a new study of more than 2,000 US adults examining how expectations around work and unemployment have shifted.

The Great Resignation is still at play according to the study which found that in the last six months, 43 percent of working Americans have considered looking for a new job. What many employers don’t realize is just how feasible unemployment is for employees. The survey found that two in five (41 percent) Americans believe they could be unemployed for more than six months while remaining financially stable, with the average length being eight months.

As of March 2022, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics estimated that there were 158,458,000 employed adults in America — meaning over 65 million (65,520,345) workers in the US could take at least a six-month break from work without a paycheck. With the price tag of hiring one new employee costing more than $4,000, it’s imperative that employers learn what it takes to retain employees.

“Amidst The Great Resignation, people have taken a step back to really think about what matters to them and their priorities," says Anita Grantham, head of HR at BambooHR. “Our study found that there is a deep shift happening where workers are closely examining what they want in an employer and making 180-degree career pivots when necessary to find the pay and workplace environments that they truly desire."

The Great Resignation to The Great Shift

Nearly two-thirds (63 percent) of working Americans have considered changing their entire career path, industry or heading back to school in the last six months. Leaders now have the added pressure of ensuring that employees find fulfillment in their jobs and their industry. If they don’t, employees can quit and take six months or more to figure out what it is they truly want to spend their time doing.

  • 27 percent of American workers are considering quitting because they’re dissatisfied with their work.
  • 88 percent of employed Americans could see themselves working in another industry than the one they are currently employed in, with the top choices being healthcare (14 percent), business/professional services (13 percent), and the arts and entertainment (12 percent).
  • Nearly all (94 percent) Gen Z and (94 percent) millennials could see themselves working in an industry other than the one they are currently employed in, compared to 84 percent of Gen X and 72 percent of Boomers.

Finances are top of mind

Money matters. It’s not the only thing people care about, but the survey findings confirmed that wage is the main drive for this Great Shift as some are no longer willing to put up with unsatisfactory pay and others are tired of working multiple jobs just to make ends meet.

  • The most important characteristics of a job to Americans are living wages (61 percent) and opportunities for raises (49 percent).
  • 1 in 10 employed Americans currently work multiple jobs. Of those, 31 percent do it because they can’t afford to live without a second paycheck and 25 percent do it to pay-off debt.
  • Willingly unemployed Americans are getting by while unemployed using savings (56 percent), family member income (46 percent), and retirement accounts (38 percent).

Employees feel undervalued

In addition to pay, many workers are looking at new careers due to feeling dissatisfied and uncared-for by their employers. Despite the rise in benefits, nearly two in five (38 percent) Americans say that in the last year, they’ve felt the least valued they’ve ever felt in their entire working career.

  • The pandemic seems to have soured the employee-employer relationship:One-third (34 percent) of Americans say their current or most recent employer has cared less about them as an employee in the last two years.And a quarter (28 percent) of Americans say that in the last two years, they’ve cared less about their employer.
  • 29 percent of Americans don’t feel like work is worth it anymore.
  • The main actions employers can take to make employees feel valued are giving a bonus or raise (61 percent), recognizing their work one on one (48 percent) and giving adequate support to do their job through tools and personnel (46 percent).

To read the full report, visit: https://www.bamboohr.com/resources/ebooks/rethinking-the-great-resignation/

Survey methodology

BambooHR conducted this research using an online survey prepared by Method Research and distributed by RepData among n=2,012 adults (18+) in the United States who have been employed in the last two years. The sample was split between currently employed adults (1,559) and unemployed by their own choice in the last two years (453). The sample was equally split between white and blue collar workers, age groups, gender, and racial/ethnic groups with a nationally representative geographic spread of respondents. Data was collected from February 11 to March 3, 2022. 

About BambooHR

Serving more than 25,000 organizations and almost 2 million employees worldwide, BambooHR® is HR software designed for growing businesses. BambooHR makes it easy for growing companies to manage essential employee information in a personalized, cloud-based, and secure system. BambooHR customers include innovators like Asana, SoundCloud, Foursquare, Freshbooks, Stance, Reddit, and Magnolia Homes. With customers in 100 countries, BambooHR’s goal is to set HR professionals and organizations free to do great work. BambooHR also hosts more than 30,000 HR professionals at its annual HR Virtual Summit. To find out more, visit bamboohr.com or follow @bamboohr on social media.