The 2024 International Workforce and Wellbeing Mindset Study is Alight’s 14th annual U.S. report, examining employee wellbeing, culture, total rewards and workplace technology.
The study’s goal is to understand employee perceptions to help employers optimize their employees’ wellbeing and experiences to improve engagement, productivity and performance.
Employees are open to new opportunities with another employer
Across industries and geographies, 2024 has been marked by uncertainty for workers. Several high-profile companies announced sweeping layoffs, leading to a sense of unease, even among those with the most in-demand skills. Inflationary pressures have eroded purchasing power yet record highs on Wall Street have offered a silver lining for some. All the while, the news cycle has been following the ever-evolving shifts that come in a Presidential election year.
Against this backdrop, it’s not surprising our findings reveal a workforce in distress. Less than half of employees report a positive state of wellbeing — a significant decline from the previous year. Stress levels are alarmingly high, with a majority of workers experiencing moderate to severe stress and over 40% reporting symptoms of burnout. This has led to nearly half the workforce either actively seeking new employment opportunities or being open to change should it present itself.
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44% of U.S. workers rate their overall wellbeing positively
While just 20% of workers say they are actively looking for a job at a different company, another 27% admit they would seriously consider working elsewhere if presented the opportunity. That means employers could very well be facing an exodus of half their workforce in the coming year.
In spite of all this, people are generally feeling more optimistic about their current employee experience, with just under half (45%) rating it as great or awesome. Given the opportunity, six in 10 report telling others great things about working at their company (up 6 points from 2023), and a similar number feel inspired to do their best work every day (also up 6 points year-over-year).
Alight’s point of view
Clearly, there is a disconnect between how people feel about their employer and their willingness to accept a position elsewhere. A number of factors go into their decision whether or not to seek greener pastures elsewhere. Not surprisingly, better pay emerges as their top consideration. Among active job seekers, 61% say better pay would cause them to stay with their current employer, while 43% of those not actively looking but willing to make a change say better pay would be their number one reason to leave if someone came to them with an offer.
That said, a compensation bump isn’t always enough to convince someone to make a career move — or to stay put. Workers also cite growth opportunities, job security, better benefits and a healthy work-life balance as top influencers. Increasingly, they are looking to their employers to provide personalized support and navigation tools to help improve their health, wealth and wellbeing.
Organizations that provide a full suite of services and support with access to web and mobile applications gain a benefits advantage, while building a healthy and financially secure workforce.
Not only do 57% of fully supported employees report positive overall wellbeing (compared to 42% of non-supported employees), but 81% (compared to 68%) say they are often productive at work and 61% (compared to 46%) hardly ever think about leaving to work elsewhere.
It’s clear that fully supported employees feel better about themselves and their employer. Organizations that offer comprehensive, personalized benefits packages and a full suite of services and support improve the employee experience and workers’ personal wellbeing, while also unlocking a benefits advantage that drives peak performance and a positive impact on the bottom line. The time has come to take a new approach to benefits, one that recognizes the need to transform benefits from a necessary expense into a game-changing differentiator.
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