A mere 42 per cent of UK employees rate their overall ‘employee experience’ positively, with just 45 per cent having had one or more positive experiences at work within the past month. This is according to The O.C. Tanner Institute’s 2020 Global Culture Report which surveyed 20,000 employees and leaders across the world including almost 2,000 from the UK.
“The majority of UK employees are feeling unappreciated and neglected”, says Robert Ordever, Managing Director of workplace culture specialist, O.C Tanner Europe.
“Clearly not enough is being done to create workplace cultures that put the health and happiness of employees first.”
In fact, just over half of UK employees (53 per cent) believe the ‘employee experience’ is taken seriously at their organisations, leaving 47 per cent who feel their organisations regard it as an afterthought. It seems that customers are taking precedent over employees in nearly half of UK organisations, with 48 per cent admitting that their organisations are sacrificing the employee experience to please the customer.
“Many companies are still viewing employees as a means of production and profit but this must change” says Ordever.
“With 92 per cent of employees describing their employee experience as their ‘everyday’ experience, leaders need to prioritise building a vibrant workplace culture with frequent and impactful employee ‘micro experiences’ rather than big gestures of appreciation a few times a year.”
When employees have a thriving culture, employees rate their satisfaction with the employee experience 102 per cent higher, highlighting the powerful relationship between the two.
Ordever adds,
“A great corporate culture is crucial to delivering first-class employee experiences. Failure to act on this will lead to disengagement, mass burnout, high staff turnover and a talent deficit that will see organisational profits nose dive.”