Employee Well-Being Report: Most People Don’t See a Path Forward for Internal Mobility

Glint’s latest Employee Well-Being Report reveals a breakdown in employee-employer relations: While organizations are stressing internal mobility as one way to meet today’s talent needs, a majority of employees don’t feel supported to look for their next role internally.

According to the report, only 1 in 5 employees believes they can: 

• meet their career goals where they work today; and 
• have both their manager’s and organization’s support to pursue those goals 一 even in another part of the business.

The newest Employee Well-Being Report also surfaced: 

• a new surge in employee burnout; 
• the top attributes today’s job candidates look for in prospective employers; and 
• how well business leaders are meeting their people’s desire for work flexibility.

Read on for insights into how employees and organizations are navigating the Great Reshuffle.

The key to internal mobility is manager support 

In what we’re calling the Great Reshuffle, organizations are rethinking their entire working models, cultures, and values. At the same time, employees are reconsidering not just how they work, but why they work, looking for not just greater flexibility but also greater fulfillment.

The conclusion many employees have recently come to, according to our data insights: I don’t have the support to explore new opportunities at my current organization.

Eric Knudsen, a LinkedIn people science senior researcher, says there’s at least one solution that leaders can turn to almost immediately.

"Whenever someone starts looking for their next opportunity," he says, "a lack of manager support could force an external move. It’s important to frame internal mobility to managers as a moment of growth rather than a moment of loss."

Better yet, Eric says, managers have a lot to gain from internal mobility. 

"An internal move means their team will have a new advocate and partner in a different part of the organization," he says, "something that could improve cross-team collaboration, which is a key element of organizational success."

And managers should keep in mind that a robust internal mobility program gives them access to proven talent too.

Burnout surges as the return to the office looms

Alongside our quarterly tracking of employee happiness, we monitor signs of employee burnout. The latest news isn’t great: In the last three months, employee happiness dipped and burnout rose.

This double whammy occurred as some regions around the world began preparing for a return to the office while others were fighting surges in COVID-19 infections, points out Amy Lavoie, LinkedIn head of people science strategic development. 

The implications are clear: Very few people want to return to pre-pandemic work life.

"Part of the issue here is that the communications around organizations’ return-to-office plans can carry a dangerous subtext," Amy says. "It may look to employees that, while their leaders had prioritized their well-being and safety in the pandemic’s first stretch, they’re now focusing on business and advancing their own agenda at all costs, leaving employees’ concerns in the wake."

As Amy reminds us, employee well-being is not a fad. 

"Employees are looking to their organizations to value their needs as full human beings," she says, "and trust them to make decisions about how, when, and where they work. Until that happens, we will continue to see this deadlock between employees and organizations on happiness and burnout."

Here’s a useful learning path on LinkedIn Learning designed to help employees cultivate balance and well-being as offices reopen. 

Candidates and employees make a strong case for flexibility 

The Employee Well-Being Report found that today’s job candidates rank good work-life balance and excellent compensation and benefits as their top two factors when considering whether to join an organization.

Yet employees are saying their organizations aren’t delivering in those two areas. Of the factors measured, work-life balance and excellent compensation and benefits were among the lowest scoring on employee surveys over the past year.

The report is chock-full of statistics showing employees largely feel productive and successful when they can be flexible about how, when, and where they work, and one set of insights particularly stands out: 

Employees who are satisfied with their organization’s flexibility on work schedules or location are:

• 3.4x more likely to successfully balance work and personal obligations
• 2.6x more likely to be happy working for their employer
• 2.1x more likely to recommend working for their employer

And yet:

• 1 in 5 employees doesn’t have location flexibility
• 1 in 4 employees isn’t satisfied with their current ability to dictate how they flex

So where are leaders getting stuck when it comes to adopting a flexible approach to work? 

"Inherently, a flexible approach to work requires a culture of trust," says Ia Ko, a LinkedIn people science principal consultant. "Yes, leaders can provide broad policies to guide flexible work, but ultimately they need to empower their managers to structure projects in a way that helps employees do their best work and be their best selves."

Here’s an essential LinkedIn Learning course on how HR pros can lead their organizations in providing flexible work options.

Final thoughts

In the midst of the Great Reshuffle, leaders have an opportunity to create a new approach to business that embraces what employees need to be their best selves at work and do their best work. With our latest data insights, we know that the needs of today’s employees include growth opportunities, well-being support, and flexibility. 

Read the full September 2021 Employee Well-Being Report here.

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