The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
Workers less willing to do more
Employee performance and effort have sunk to their lowest levels since 2010, according to new data from Stamford-based IT consulting and research firm Gartner.
In the fourth quarter of 2017, 19.7 percent of U.S. employees reported that they had a “high willingness to go above and beyond their job expectations,” which is down from 24 percent in the previous quarter.
Gartner officials attribute workers’ lack of effort to factors including widening wage gaps between company executives and lowerranked workers, an absence of major raises and bonuses and limited promotion opportunities. Low unemployment levels — the national rate now runs at 4.1 percent — are also contributing to employees’ sense of security. At the same time, many professionals are not showing much desire to change jobs.
“There’s not a fear factor anymore among employees about losing their jobs if they’re not working hard,” Brian Kropp, HR practice leader at Gartner, said in an interview.
Many employees do not see major incentives to boost their productivity, Kropp said. A large number of them are also willing to trade career advancement for better work-life balance.
“You see scenarios in companies where most people get 2 percent raises, if you work really hard it will be a 2.5 percent increase, and if you don’t work hard, you will get a 1.5 percent raise,” Kropp said. “For many people, that differential in results is simply not worth it to put forth the extra effort. … And the limited benefits you get from working harder are not worth it compared with a better work-life balance.”
Meanwhile, many managers are willing to put up with underperforming employees given the alternative.
“There is a phenomenon of people ‘quitting in place,’ where people are saying ‘I’m not going to work as hard as I used to, but I’m not going anywhere,’ ” Kropp said. “If people are underperforming, you want them to leave, so you can hire people who will work harder. But most people can’t just immediately push those folks out because it’s so hard to hire qualified people.”
The findings draw on Gartner data covering more than 22,000 employees in 40 countries.
Amid the improving outlook, job-seeking remains steady. In the fourth quarter of 2017, 45 percent of employees said they had a “high intent” to stay in their jobs, a rate that has not changed significantly in the past year.
“The idea there is if the new position will be the same, why should I change?” Kropp said. “Because changing is inherently risky and disrupts what you know, many say ‘I’ll stick with the devil I know, rather than the devil I don’t.’ ”
Sustained year-over-year wage growth exceeding 3 percent would likely be needed to push more companies to ramp up their compensation, Kropp said.
Private sector wages and salaries in the U.S. increased 2.8 percent in the 12 months through last December, the largest increase since the first quarter of 2015. The third quarter of 2017 saw a 2.6 percent uptick.
“If you’re an employer, you have to make a decision about whether you are going to keep salaries at the same level or increase them,” Kropp said. “Will companies be willing to pay more to get employees to switch jobs? That’s a key thing for every manager who’s got a sizable workforce should be paying attention to.”