Employee Well-Being Report
Data-driven insights into people’s happiness and success at work
In the March 2022 report, we pair our global employee engagement and workforce data with analysis from LinkedIn’s People Science team– all so we can better understand how to help employees be happy and successful at work.
Employee happiness at work
In this edition of the Employee Well-Being Report, we take a look at how employee happiness and burnout have changed over the past two years since the pandemic’s onset in early 2020.
Employee happiness at work has decreased by 6% since its June 2020 peak.
How we measure employee happiness at work
“How happy are you working at your company?” One seemingly simple question can predict employees’ sense of well-being, including their job satisfaction, motivation to go above and beyond, organizational pride, plans to stay, desire to make an impact, and much more. In our years of data collection and analysis, we have found that employee happiness is a precursor to business success.
Employee burnout has risen by 17% since February 2020.
How we measure burnout
Our metric represents the mean percent of survey comments on Glint's happiness survey item that express at least one risk factor of burnout (e.g., stress, overload, pressure, anxiety, and other related signals of possible burnout). Burnout trend data is derived from a geographically global sample.
The Great Reshuffle
We’re coming up on a year of the Great Reshuffle. Looking back at the data and insights, we see some trends emerging. These findings help explain the changes we’re experiencing – and people are asking for — at work. You’ll also discover fresh thinking on the new currency of work: skills.
Every organization is now rethinking how they work, their culture, and values. At the same time, all the employees who have learned to work differently over the past 18 months are rethinking not only how and where they work, but why they work.
While some jobs will be lost, and many others created, almost all will change, resulting in the Great Reshuffle. We see this as an opportunity for both individuals and organizations to create new frameworks and workplace norms that will lead to greater fulfillment and better business outcomes.
Belonging is down
Employees’ sense of belonging has dropped 5% from its early pandemic high.
What LinkedIn People Science expert Stacey Levine says
Belonging is at the root of many of the questions employees are currently asking: Is this the right career path for me? Can I be me at this company? Does this work arrangement complement my life?
A strong culture is critical to attracting and retaining talent, and one of the strongest drivers of culture is how well an organization can create a sense of belonging. Early on in the pandemic, belonging rose, as organizations focused on employee safety and well-being, and renewed their efforts to create diverse and inclusive cultures.
Since the pandemic’s early stages, belonging has begun to drop. Some employees miss the spontaneity of in-person interactions. Some feel burnt out by staff shortages and rising attrition. And others question if their companies are still focused on their well-being and belonging as they make return-to-office decisions.
See Stacey's LinkedIn profile
A changing work experience
Today’s employess are driven by more than just monetary incentives. They want to learn and grow. They want to know their skills are being put to good use – in their current role or a new one. Dive deeper to see how culture, internal mobility, and skills are converging in the workplace.
Drivers of a great work culture have changed drastically since the Great Reshuffle began.
1. The extent to which employees believe their organization lives its values.
2. The extent to which the organization encourages individual employees to find new and better ways to get things done.
3. The extent to which the organization continuously improves the way work gets done.
Read more about culture drivers in our May 2021 report.
Most employees don't feel supported to look for their next role internally.
Only 1 out of 5 employees believes they can:
- meet their career goals where they work today; and
- have both their manager and organization's support to pursue those goals—even in another part of the business.
Read more about internal mobility in our September 2021 report.
Employees want to follow their skills and skilling potential—even if that means leaving their current employer.
Employees who feel their skills are not being put to good use in their current job are 10x more likely to be looking for a new job.
Only 50% of employees feel their manager encourages the use of work time to learn.
What Head of LinkedIn People Science Justin Black says
Over the past year, we’ve seen employee demand for learning-centric workplaces and skills-based outcomes outpace organizations’ capacity to respond.
Employees need to feel a sense of purpose at work. They need to see their skills put to good use and in a way that’s personally meaningful. They’re also eager to increase their impact by learning new skills.
Organizations have an opportunity to give employees what they want, and in the process become more agile and competitive. Leaders looking for a way forward can start by asking: Does our culture support employee growth and internal mobility? Do we model the behavior and celebrate the right outcomes? Do we know how we’re doing in helping employees find fulfilling work?
See Justin's LinkedIn Profile
Methodology
The insights in this edition of the Employee Well-Being Report were sourced from a blend of Glint People Success Platform data and LinkedIn data. Engagement, burnout, and culture insights were derived from millions of Glint survey responses from more than 900 organizations. Mobility and skills insights were derived from self-reported data collected from survey samples of LinkedIn members during 2021.
View resources on how to support your employees.
Questions? Comments? Feedback? Feel free to reach out to any one of the report’s editors: Kris Kitto, Eric Knudsen,
Anne McSilver, or Greg Lewis.