Does your organization suffer from high turnover? Are you constantly looking for ways to retain talent? A new survey, conducted by Paychex, may offer more insight into ways employers can keep their current workforce happy, engaged, and most importantly—keep them around!
The Paychex survey report, “Employee Retention: What Makes Employees Stay or Leave,” focuses on what factors are driving employees to leave their current workplaces, how these factors effect multiple generations of workers, and ways employers can keep their current staff happy and engaged.
Paychex surveyed over 2,000 people across various industries and generations and uncovered that low wages are the primary reason employees are leaving their jobs. According to the survey, “69 percent said that low salary was the primary reason they have left or would leave a job. Sixty-three percent said they have left or would leave a job if they were overworked. And just over 50 percent cited an employer’s disregard as a reason to quit.”
Other reasons employees have left or would leave their current jobs include:
- Lack of recognition or reward (45.24%)
- Lack of benefits (44.27%)
- Lack of work/life balance (41.79%)
- Lack of skill development (29.06%)
- Health care too expensive of unavailable (26.53%)
- Retirement offerings unavailable (21.23%)
- Employer didn’t match or contribute to retirement savings (15.06%)
Across the board, all generations of workers most often cite low wages as the reason for leaving a company. However, Baby Boomers cite lack of benefits as the second most common reason for leaving, while Gen X and Millennials cite being overworked as the second most common reason for leaving.
The survey report also looked at which industry had the highest rate of turnover due to low wages and being overworked. The legal industry sees the highest rate of turnover due to low wages, while education sees the highest turnover from being overworked.
When it comes to regions, workers in the mid-Atlantic (New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania) are more likely to leave a position due to low wages, while workers in New England are more likely to leave due to being overworked. Workers in the mountain regions (Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming) say they are least likely to leave a job due low wages, and workers in the Great Lake states (Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin) are least likely to leave due to being overworked.
What can employers do to keep their workers from walking out the door? The Paychex survey report says, “[G]ood bonuses, paid sick days, work-from-home days, flexible schedules, and inexpensive, quality health care are all good ways to keep employees happy.” The infographic below highlights more benefits employers can offer to retain their current workforce. For more information on this survey and to view the full results, click here.
 Melissa Blazejak is a Senior Web Content Editor at BLR. She has written articles for HR.BLR.com and the HR Daily Advisor websites and is responsible for the day-to-day management of HR.BLR.com and HRLaws.com. She has been at BLR since 2014. She graduated with a BA of Science, specializing in Communication, from Eastern Connecticut State University in 2008. Most recently, she graduated in 2014 with a MS of Educational Technology. |