The expectations of employees in companies are changing. Generations succeed one another and the change in their priorities is completely normal. However, since the health crisis linked to COVID-19, businesses have experienced an acceleration of these changes. While position and compensation were the most important factors for employees, their priorities changed very quickly. We therefore invite you to discover the new expectations of employees in companies, as well as some advice to adapt as easily as possible to this evolution.
Employee priorities in 2022
Quality of life at work and well-being
This is undoubtedly one of the expectations that has changed the most in recent years. While in 2018, 56% of respondents believed that the well-being at work was a priority issue in business, they were 81% in 2020 (IFOP study, May 2020).
Employees now consider premises of their business as a place to live, where they spend a large part of their day, and in which they should feel good. Spaces must therefore be adapted to the tasks incumbent on them, but also allow them to make the most of their breaks.
The search for meaning
According to a survey by IPSOS and CESI, carried out in June 2020, more than 9 out of 10 employees consider that their company should Give meaning to their work.
More and more, employees feel the need to have a positive impact by working, that their missions have a purpose, that they help others. They need to understand the context in which they work, and the environment in which they operate. They want to collaborate with a company that share their values : solidarity, ethics, environmental protection, etc.
The development of a CSR policy in collaboration with private companiesMarried is now essential. This makes it possible to direct the organization's commitments towards projects that are important to them.
Listening and recognition
Still too many managers value results without sufficiently recognizing the work And the endeavours provided by collaborators. However, the Vivavoice 2021 barometer indicates that recognition, trust and information sharing are among the most important expectations of employees.
In order for them to want to be more involved in the life of the company, it is therefore more important than ever to include all employees in decision-making, to offer them a certain autonomy and to show them that you are satisfied with the work they do on a daily basis.
The establishment of new working methods
With regard to the organization of work as such, the Elage/Les Échos survey revealed, in June 2021, that only 3 out of 10 employees would like to return to the situation before the health crisis in terms of teleworking. Two-thirds of people who practiced it during the pandemic consider that it helped them find a fair poise between professional life and personal life.
More generally, employees want to find more suppleness in the way work is organized. They appreciate being able to adapt their schedules according to their personal constraints or their pace of life, to use the digital tools that suit them or to be able to choose in which order to carry out their daily tasks. Traditional, authoritarian management methods with very precise guidelines are less and less accepted. La implementation of participatory management is valued more than before by employees.
The feeling of belonging
Finally, employees want to work in a structure in which they really feel like they are. integrated. For them, the company no longer represents a simple place where they have to perform tasks, but becomes a real place to live, in which they need to feel good.
More than ever, they need to be involved, to feel that they belong fully to an organization and that their role has meaning. They need to have an experience in which they are actors.
Simply adapt to these new expectations
If you want your company to continue to be efficient, to maintain its workforce and to attract new talent, it is essential to take stock of the level of satisfaction of your employees, then to put in place measures if necessary.
Listen to your employees
To find out more about the expectations of your employees, you can gather their feelings.
The first method to do this is to send them a questionnaire anonymous and complete, in which they can express both their current level of satisfaction, but also their expectations for the future. This allows you to identify the points that are going up the most, and thus to prioritize the changes to be expected.
You can also choose to organize interviews individuals in order to discuss the situation with your employees. The advantage is that it allows a greater level of detail to be collected than in a written questionnaire. However, this can only be effective in companies where employees feel confident enough to speak openly and express themselves without fear. It is up to you to judge whether this is the case at home or not.
Work on the employee experience
Finally, you could see that the new expectations of employees are largely linked to The employee experience. It is therefore a point in which you should definitely invest.
Making every effort to make people feel good, right from the onboarding process, has significant benefits for you in the long term. This makes it possible to increase the commitment of your employees, to improve their performance, to retain them, but also to attract numerous candidates.
The expectations of employees in companies have changed a lot in recent years. Now, quality of life, meaning, recognition and flexibility in methods are the factors that matter most to employees. Remuneration and position are no longer the most decisive points. So take the time to listen to your employees in order to know their expectations and adapt yourself in order to offer them the best possible working environment.
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