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Pattie Lovett-Reid

Chief Financial Commentator, CTV

|Archive

There is a disconnect between how employees and employers are feeling about the current work environment. 

According to the 11th annual Hays Salary Guide, employers are feeling pretty good about the economy and have a positive outlook on the employment landscape.

However, employees are not feeling the same way.

A lack of social interaction, increased workloads and a lack of well-being and mental health support are some of the reasons 49 per cent polled are seriously considering leaving their current role. 

This is something we need to pay attention to. 

In the pandemic’s early days, you may have been considered lucky to have a job where you could work from home. You were thought to be in a privileged position. And to some extent, that may be true. However, as COVID-19 continues, fear, exhaustion and waning optimism are starting to take their toll. 

Employees are waving the white flag, but are employers noticing?

Earlier on in the pandemic, 81 per cent of employees rated their well-being as "positive," according to Hays’ findings.  As the lockdown unfolded, that number dropped to 64 per cent. Adding to the challenge, more than half (54 per cent) of employers admit to doing nothing in the way of employee wellness or mental health. 

Engaged workers – especially in today's environment – are key to a company's success. In many cases, employees will tell you they have never worked as hard or felt as productive as they do today. 

Employers believe their employees have adapted to the new working arrangements and one-third believe productivity has increased along with the trust in remote workers. But actual productivity gains aren't being noted. 

This is a key issue. For companies to be competitive, productivity levels need to improve. Productivity levels will improve with engaged employees.

The bottom line is that finding the right people for the right job is hard enough and it just seems to reason keeping the right people in the right job is critical. COVID-19 has changed the employment landscape, and what may have served employers well in the past may not have the same impact going forward.