Creating an Engaging Employee Experience 

THE LATEST EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT TRENDS

Insight and action to help you prioritize the employee experience. 

 

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High Burnout Still Common Among Employees 

The World Health Organization categorizes burnout as a work issue, not a health condition. The WHO describes burnout as persistent fatigue, emotional detachment or job negativity, and decreased productivity. 37% of employees have high burnout levels. This level of burnout has declined 8% since 2021. Experience_BURNOUT_high-burnout-still-common_V2

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Burnout Impacts Engagement and Retention 

Employees with high burnout are 1.7X less engaged, 1.6X less likely to say it’d take a lot to get me to leave, 1.4X less likely to say they intend to stay for the next year, and 2.1X more likely to be searching for other jobs.

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Managers and Directors Have Higher Burnout Rates

Managers and directors have higher burnout levels than executives and individual contributors. 

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Software and IT Have Higher Rates of Burnout Than Other Industries

Software and IT have a 47% burnout rate, every other industry measured less than 40%. 

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Younger Employees Are More Likely to Have High Burnout 

Almost half of younger employees (26 to 35 years old) experience high burnout compared with only 29% of older employees (56 to 64 years old). 

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New and Tenured Employees Have the Lowest Burnout Rates 

Employees who have been at their organization less than one year or more than 15 years have the lowest burnout levels at roughly 31% and 30%, respectively. 

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Sufficient Staffing Can Decrease Burnout and Turnover 

Sufficient staffing levels help with load management and in turn decrease the risk of burnout, turnover, and disengagement. 

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But, Most Employees Say Staffing Levels Aren't Sufficient

Only 40% of employees say their organization has sufficient staff to manage the workload they have.  

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Organizations Can Help Manage Burnout

Employees who believe they have manageable stress and workloads, a culture that supports wellbeing, adequate staffing levels, and fair pay and benefits are considerably less likely to burn out. 

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AI Usage Doesn't Reduce Burnout (Not Yet, Anyway)

Employees who are frequent AI users have slightly higher burnout levels than those who have never or infrequently use AI. 

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“Solving for burnout means regular employee listening and feedback: 

  • What does workload look like? 
  • What are the performance goals and accountabilities that should be prioritized? 
  • What does flexibility and time off look like for the role or with the individual? 
  • What coaching and/or development is needed?”

Todd Pernicek

Insights Analyst

Quantum Workplace

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Follow him on LinkedIn.

 

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Employees Don’t See Enough Action After Surveys  

Employees say organizations can do better in acting on their feedback.   

 

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The Post-Survey Action That Does Happen Is Inconsistent 

Less than half of employees agree that there is consistency in taking action across the organization and that employee feedback is taken seriously. 

 

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Employees Cite Lack of Time, Resources and Prioritization as the Top Reasons for Inaction 

21% of employees believe their organization doesn’t take action because there’s a lack of time, resources, or prioritization. While 20% of employees believe it’s because leaders are unwilling to make necessary changes.

 

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A Consistent Survey Cadence Helps with Engagement  

Quarterly and monthly surveys are correlated with higher engagement rates. 

 

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Planning and Communication is the Key to Survey ROI  

Employees who say their leaders and managers are exceptional at communicating and taking effective action on survey results are more than 5X more likely to agree that their organization has a positive ROI from their investment in employee engagement.Experience_when-action-planning-is-done-right V2

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Post-Survey Action Planning is a Shared Responsibility 

Employees say leaders, HR, and managers are responsible for taking action on survey feedback. 

 

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Employees Should Play Larger Role in Action Planning 

Employees say their organization isn't involving them in action planning. However, action planning involvement is correlated with higher engagement.

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A Real HR Story

Seacoast Bank Takes Action on Surveys 

“We moved from focusing on data collection to building out actionable commitment plans. We knew that associates needed to see and feel more change happening because of their feedback.”  

Olivia Kirchman
AVP HR Business Partner
at Seacoast Bank

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“Surveys without action are pointless. The scale isn't going to lose the weight for you. The speedometer isn't going to increase your speed. The marker-filled thermometer doesn't hit your fundraising goal. You have to put in the work. Too many companies are stuck in a cycle of collecting employee feedback via surveys and doing nothing with the insights. We can do better.” 

Shane McFeely

Lead Researcher

Quantum Workplace

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Follow him on LinkedIn.
 

EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT TREND

Engagement is the Key to Strong Retention and Performance

Organizations focusing only on retention or performance are missing a key ingredient—engagement. Employees want to feel connected to their jobs, teams, and organization. 

 

In This Section

The e9 Employee Engagement Model

Higher Engagement Means Less Organizational Turnover

Engaged Employees Aren't Searching for a New Job

Engaged Employee Stay

Engagement Leads to Longer Tenure

Engagement Impacts Perceptions of Culture

Engagement Leads to Positive ROI

A Real HR Story: Frontline Boosts the Bottom Line with Engagement

How to Turn This Insight Into Action 

 

 

Check Out the Data

Quantum Workplace’s Methodology: the e9 Employee Engagement Model 

Before we dig into the data, let's align on how we define employee engagement. Our definition is scientifically validated, well-researched, and highly effective. It measures three key areas that work together to build engagement: the work employees do, the teams they work with, and the organization they work for. 

 

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Learn more about our employee engagement model that helps you measure and drive engagement.

 

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Higher Engagement Means Less Organizational Turnover 

 

On average, organizations in the top quartile of employee engagement have a turnover rate that is 18.8% lower than companies in the bottom half of engagement. 
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Engaged Employees Aren’t Searching for A New Job 

 

Nine out of 10 engaged employees intend on working at their organization for the next year, compared to only five out of 10 of their disengaged counterparts. Furthermore, highly engaged employees are 3.4 times less likely to say they are searching for jobs or applying for other opportunities compared with those who aren’t highly engaged. 

 

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Engaged Employees Stay

 

Engaged employees are less likely to leave an organization, compared to their disengaged counterparts.

 

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Engagement Leads to Longer Tenure 

Employees with year-over-year increases in engagement were twice as likely to remain with their organization over the next two years compared to those whose engagement decreased. 

 

_Experience_engagement-leads-to-longer-tenure_1Engagement is also tied to longer tenure even when employees end up leaving the organization. When you compare the tenures of employees who exited their organizations, highly engaged employees stay on the job more than a year longer than disengaged employees. _Experience_months-employed-1

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Engagement Leads to Better Performance

According to executives and business leaders, employee engagement directly impacts individual, team, and business performance.

A Real HR Story

Frontline Boosts the Bottom Line with Engagement 

“Given our commitment to employee engagement and the new strategies activated, employees feel appreciated, have a sense of pride working at Frontline and feel aligned to our core values. These efforts have also created positive outcomes for our business. 

Kate Kandrick
Human Resources Director
at Frontline Education

More Employee Engagement Trends

Click on another section to learn more about what's happening in the workplace — and what you can do about it. 

Magnetic Culture

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● The 'Big Stay' is Here

● You Can't Get by With Mediocre Culture

Performance & Impact

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● Employees Want to Drive Organizational Success

● Managers Matter - But They Don’t Feel Supported

Emerging Intelligence

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● Organizations Still Aren’t Ready for AI

● Change Isn’t the Problem - How You Manage It Is

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