Earlier this month, The ADP Research Institute released its “People at Work” report, based on detailed survey responses from over 34,000 workers across 18 countries. The report highlights six key findings regarding worker demands and HRM trends. These metrics are not only crucial for understanding the recent trends in the field of Human Resource Management but also because their implications spillover in other domains of business.

Question 1 – What is the worker demand?

Finding 1 – Compensation ranks highest on the priority list for employees, appearing in the top 3 priorities for over 55% of the surveyed employees. However, the survey observed an increasing dissatisfaction with pay. Job security was a close second, majorly concentrated in the Asia Pacific region.

Recent Occurrence – The rising number of strikes in Europe due to pay dissatisfaction substantiates this point. The most recent example being the five-day strike by junior doctors in England over pay and working conditions.

Question 2 – What is the expectation for workers?

Finding 2 – Workers are expecting high pay hikes. In 2023, the average pay increase was 4%, for the coming year, workers are anticipating over 5% hikes.

Recent Occurrence – A pay rise could be an outcome after the European Parliamentary elections, as various polls indicate that the main issues being contested are rising prices and social inequalities.

Question 3 – Promises for remote work?

Finding 3 – A sense of monitoring has increased for employees with a back to office mandate. Despite the mandate, many firms remain flexible with respect to working conditions. North America is preferring hybrid work over complete remote work, with an increase in hybrid workforce. The biggest increase in complete on-site work was in the Asia-Pacific region/

Recent Occurrence – Cognizant mandated employees to be in the office at least three days a week, supported by a new app to monitor attendance. TCS incorporated office attendance in determination of variable pay. Dell technologies introduced electronic badge swipes, VPN usage, and a color-coded system to track on-site attendance.

Question 4 – A divided workforce (DEI & ESG)?

Finding 4 – The themes have a positive worker sentiment with around 50% workers reporting diversity training programs in their organizations, 36% reporting some kind of DEI awareness events and 34% reporting targeted recruiting. Furthermore, a positive sentiment followed regarding the majority of the respondents’ organizations’ ESG goals.

Recent Occurrence – The Fintech times recently listed some fintech companies embracing DEI wholeheartedly. The list featured companies like PayU GPO, Mambu, ClearBank and Aro, amongst others, and are prioritizing initiatives on aspects of recruitment, to reforming work policies to make their work spaces more inclusive.

Question 5 – How is career development perceived?

Finding 5 – There is worker dissatisfaction in terms of organization’s investment. Less than half of workers feel their employer invests in the skills they need to advance their careers. Almost half believe that the future’s skill sets will require technological knowledge not needed in their current jobs. Additionally, there is growing doubt and lack of confidence, as 42% of workers globally think AI will replace some or all of their job functions.

Recent Occurrence – Organizations investing in reskilling and upskilling can strengthen their workforces amid technological changes. Bosch’s €2 billion plan to retrain its 400,000 employees with an aim to mitigate job losses with the automotive industry transitioning to electric vehicles.

Question 6 – Prevalence of workplace stress?

Finding 6 – In a positive light, the number of workers facing stress every day has reduced from COVID period to below pandemic levels. However, half of the survey workers continue to report feeling stress on the job. Despite the improvement in the daily stress parameter, only 21% of surveyed employees feel their employer fully supports their mental well-being.

Recent Occurrence – In October 2023, the Singapore government introduced MOM’s Enhanced Measures to Reduce Heat Stress for Outdoor Workers, developed in consultation with the Ministry of Health’s Heat Stress Expert Panel. With temperatures soaring every year, these measures mandate employers to monitor the Wet Bulb Globe Temperature (WBGT) hourly during outdoor work. The initiative aims to safeguard workers from rising heat-related health risks.

Read Further:

• Complete Report
• More on remote work