Employees value 'meaningful work' ahead of perks

Is your work environment built upon trust, recognition and respect?

Employees value 'meaningful work' ahead of perks

The secret to talent retention is to create meaningful work that employees can take pride in, according to a new global survey on human capital management.

Meaningful work goes beyond the usual 9-to-5 routine, which can sometimes push employees to the brink of burnout.

On the contrary, providing employees with meaningful work is about “creating a human-focused environment built upon trust, recognition, respect, gratitude, autonomy, and equity,” noted analysts from social recognition platform Workhuman, which published the report.

READ MORE: How to earn your employees' trust

Even across generations, respondents deemed meaningful work to be the most important aspect of their career, ahead of a positive corporate culture and compensation and benefits.

Those who claim to have found meaning and purpose in their job were also four times more likely to appreciate their line of work, the survey revealed.

Workers aged 18 to 24 also said having a manager who is invested in their growth is the second most crucial element of their career. Meanwhile, employees aged 35 and above ranked compensation and benefits as their second priority.

“In this job seeker’s market, employees are actively seeking out more human-focused work environments where they have an emotional connection to their work and their company’s mission,” said Eric Mosley, CEO of Workhuman.

“As humans are very much at the heart of the future of work, companies must focus on their workers’ core human needs and double down on inspiring meaningful work where employees feel recognised, respected, and empowered to do the best work of their lives.”

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