Job security tops employee wish-lists during recession

Job security tops employee wish-lists during recession

16.3.2010

Staff have returned to basics during the recession, citing stability and security as the most important aspects of employment, research has revealed*.

The Global Workforce Study of 20,000 employees, by professional services company Towers Watson, found that, when asked to rate what is most important for them in their jobs, 81% of employees said stability and security was the most crucial aspect.

But only 43% believed their current organisation was able to offer a secure and stable position.

This desire for stability and security was also met with a preference to work for between one and three organisations only, during an entire working life.

Nick Tatchell, a senior consultant at Towers Watson, told Personnel Today: "The recession has reminded people of some of the fundamentals of what they desire from work, and that is security and stability.

"This puts paid to the concept of the free agent, that employees will be very committed to an organisation but for a very short space of time, and then quite quickly will look to move on somewhere else."

But Tatchell warned that it could take years for this desire to subside and, in return for their loyalty, staff expected a similar level of commitment from their employers – but here there was "a disconnect".

Tatchell said: "People seem to want to embed themselves more in an organisation and really make a commitment to their organisation, but in return they are very much expecting their organisation to make a commitment back to them, and certainly the findings suggest that the deal isn't quite as strong as perhaps it could be."

*To read this article in full, as featured on the Personnel Today site, click here.

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