A new study by Perceptyx found that workers onboarded during the coronavirus pandemic were more likely to quit their jobs and feel disconnected from their teams. The global outbreak of Covid-19 entirely redefined working environments and forced most workers to go remote, but those who joined a team in the middle of the pandemic were less likely to feel tied to their organization and were more likely to leave.
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Perceptyx asked more than 1,000 employees about their onboarding experience and determined “pandemic hires had less clarity and felt less connected to their team and the organization.” The research also showed that 64% felt their employers cared about their well-being vs. 71% of workers surveyed pre-pandemic.
Brett Wells Pecerptyx’s director of people analytics stated that employees who onboarded during the height of the spread of Covid-19 were never part of a honeymoon phase, reports Bloomberg. This lack of connection and face-to-face interaction could lead to weaker relationships with colleagues.
Wells added that experience shows that people who feel less attached are more likely to quit, making this a ticking time bomb for employers.
Despite remote work environments possibly weakening retention rates, some positives also emerged for employers. The survey showed that although workers felt more disconnected from their teams and workplaces in general, overall they felt more connected to their managers.
Additionally, another plus for managers is that remote work has shown to improve process and structure to knowledge transfer that Perceptyx says “was often communicated person-to-person and error prone.” Specifically, employees who onboarded after March 2020 were 14% more likely to understand their pay and 18% more likely to understand the connection between their job and broader company objectives.
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The turnover rate for over one million employees was analyzed and found that for those who indicated they would recommend their company as a place to work, turnover following the survey was 45% lower than their counterparts who were unfavorable to the same question. The same pattern held true for those who feel pride in their organizations, with a 21% lower likelihood of turnover.
While some workers will return to office work, many will continue on to work remotely. Results from Perceptyx show that this creates implications for organizations and management teams to find new ways to engage and interact with their teams, of which they say “it’s not too late for managers to forge better, stronger relationships and ensure their employees are connected to the organization and to their teams. It may be more difficult in the hybrid environment, but it is possible – and necessary.”
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