Remote work flexibility

Ceridian's 2022 Pulse of Talent report, which surveyed 1,404 U.S. workers in companies with at least 100 employees, revealed that salary, job stability, and benefits are most important to today's employees.

But workplace flexibility, including remote work and flexible hours, has also become a steadfast priority for workers everywhere.

Not only did survey respondents (U.S. workers) rate flexibility as a top benefit in existing jobs, but the lack of workplace flexibility also ranked high as a reason for leaving a job—despite good pay— and a top reason for seeking a new job as well.

Meeting employee expectations has always been a key part of talent attraction and retention. The challenge for companies will be to craft the right policies for themselves and their workers and to provide technology that supports a global, fluid, and borderless workforce.

Focus on mental wellness

A focus on mental wellness in the workplace is emerging as a key workforce trend. The Pulse of Talent survey – conducted in October — found that 87% of U.S. workers have experienced burnout, with 44% reporting high or extreme levels. The top three catalysts for burnout were increased workloads, insufficient compensation, and mental health challenges.

To ease mental wellness challenges, employees say the top three things they want are mental health days (46%), flexible schedules to adjust workflows (39%), and additional mental wellness benefits (31%).

Such benefits show employees that the company cares for their wellbeing and want to help employees avoid burnout at all costs. Managers need to model that behavior by taking the time they need to avoid burnout as well. If managers are always on, it'll send a message to employees that they must be, too.

Opportunities for growth

The Great Resignation has gotten everyone's attention – and rightly so. One-quarter of U.S. workers (24%) are currently seeking a new job, with another 36% saying they'd consider leaving for the right opportunity, the Ceridian survey found.

Nearly half (46%) of those who reported looking for new employment said it was because they wanted better compensation, including higher salary and benefits, while another 33% seek more flexibility, such as remote work and flexible hours

In addition, almost one-third of workers (31%) who are looking for new jobs listed lack of growth opportunity and potential as the reason they're searching.

Only 40% of employees say their companies offer skills development and only 37% say their companies help employees identify needed skills to stay employed and engaged. This is a shortfall that companies can address by leveraging technology to deliver programs that support skill development.

In a recent McKinsey & Company survey, companies that had successfully launched reskilling programs shared that they felt more prepared to address future skills gaps. Even so, those that felt the first iterations were less successful, shared that they were more prepared to take on the next skills requirement. As businesses prioritize a skills-based focus for both hiring and existing talent development, they have a great opportunity to leverage the talent that's already in-house and build the infrastructure to support continuous reskilling and upskilling initiatives and help close the technology gap more effectively.

Financial wellness is key, too

It is not surprising that salary increases rank high on employee wish lists. . Of course, jobs that pay more will attract a wider circle of job candidates.

But there's more innovation around pay now than ever before, including when and how people are paid. The traditional two or four-week payday is slowly losing its grip as more companies offer on-demand pay, which allows access to earned wages before payday.

A Harris Poll study, conducted in August, revealed that 81% of U.S. workers said they'd likely take a job with an employer that provides access to earned wages on-demand at no cost to them over an employer that does not. Also, 78% of workers said that access to on-demand pay, provided to them at no cost, would increase their loyalty to an employer. Finally, 8-in-10 workers (80%) would prefer to have their pay automatically streamed into their bank accounts as they earn it. Such "streaming pay" is the future of an always-on payroll – automatically deposited as wages are earned.

Not all companies can raise salaries as much as needed to widen their candidate pools. On-demand pay, now offered by an emerging number of companies, will no doubt grow as another tool to win and retain talent. Eventually, streaming pay will follow.

Employee experience reaches beyond work

The employee experience — from the way people get paid, to where, when, and how they work — needs to be more front and center than ever before to win and keep talent. The organizations that solve for these factors first will be the employers of choice moving forward.

Steve Knox is vice president of global talent acquisition for Ceridian.