Are You Expecting Too Much from Employees?

It started during the recession. In the wake of mass layoffs, employees who remained were required to absorb the workload. Grateful to have a job, most were happy to do so.

Fast forward to today’s economy, where an entirely different job market means employees have options. Indeed, surveys show a large number of employees are open to changing jobs. A recent survey from the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), for example, finds that two out of five employees (40 percent) express, to some degree, the possibility of seeking employment outside their organization within the next year.
Nevertheless, despite so many would-be candidates, companies struggle to fill open positions. Even top companies, with good jobs, have difficulty finding talent.
What’s going on?

Demands of the Workplace

A number of surveys suggest salary is the missing link, that companies aren’t paying enough to attract the talent they seek.
However, survey after survey find employees want work-life balance, and perhaps with good reason. With few exceptions, employees still have the same workload they took on during the recession. Jobs that were combined continue to require one individual to shoulder the load, while tasks that were added to other positions have become part of the positions’ job descriptions.
Research compiled by Dori Meinert for HR Magazine finds that the average workweek for full-time U.S. employees is now 47 hours. However, one in five employees works 60-plus hours per week.
Meanwhile, 54 percent of employees ended 2016 with unused vacation days.

Consequences of the Workload

As might be expected, stress has become a major factor; 28 percent of employees miss three to six days of work each year due to stress.
Too much stress leads to burnout, which has health implications for individuals—and retention issues for the companies that employ them. Meinert’s research finds that 95 percent of HR leaders cite employee burnout for the inability to retain staff. Forty-six percent of HR leaders say employee burnout is responsible for up to half of workforce turnover.
Among the reasons for burnout cited by HR leaders, two of the top three have to do with the workload. “Under compensation” is in the No. 1 spot, at 41 percent; followed by “unreasonable workload,” at 32 percent; and “too much overtime,” at 32 percent.
Based on this survey data, it appears HR gets it … sort of.

Impact on Recruiting

However, HR and other members of the management team don’t appear to understand the impact workloads have on the ability to recruit new employees.
If employees are feeling stressed at work on a day-to-day basis – and 52 percent say they are – will these workers take a new position where the workload is just as crushing? Dangling a few more dollars may entice a few, but most would-be job-changers want a less hectic pace.
Perhaps it’s time to review your job descriptions with attention to lightening the load.

Paula Santonocito, Contributing Editor for Recruiting Daily Advisor, is a business journalist specializing in employment issues. She is the author of more than 1,000 articles on a wide range of human resource and career topics, with an emphasis on recruiting and hiring. Her articles have been featured in many global and domestic publications and information outlets, referenced in academic and legal publications as well as books, and translated into several languages.