Employees want to advance or make career changes

Guess what’s at an all-time high? People’s desire for advancement or career changes. Eighty-three percent of the global workforce say they want to “advance their career or make career changes over the next year.” And 73% of them said they’re motivated to do it now!

That’s according to a recent survey in which Oracle partnered with Workplace Intelligence. The survey, which will be released Oct. 26, showed how out 14,639 employees, managers, HR leaders and C-Suite executives across 13 countries felt approaching 2022. It also wanted to explore what they’re thinking about their careers, and what success means to them.

So, OK, employees have a desire to advance their careers. But it’s not all bad news. This is where you can help them. If you offer the right tools to help them thrive, they’ll stay. Otherwise, they’ll look for a place that will help them thrive and make career changes.

Obstacles to advancement

Seventy-six percent of respondents said they’re facing “major obstacles” in their path toward advancement. Not surprising one of them is financial. But one you can do something about is not having any opportunities for growth within their company.

Support from within their company to advance is a major hurdle many face in advancing their careers. In fact, 85% said they’re not satisfied with their company’s support. They want their firms to provide more learning and skill development opportunities, higher salaries, opportunities to take on new roles and projects, flexibility and technology to help them navigate their careers.

Here’s the interesting part: More than 50% of respondents said career advancement is so important to them they’d give up certain benefits, like vacation time and monetary bonuses, for more career development opportunities.

“The past year and a half changed how we work including where we work and, for a lot of people, who we work for. While there have been a lot of challenges for both employees and employers, this has been an opportunity to change the workplace for the better,” said Dan Schawbel, managing partner, Workplace Intelligence. “The results clearly show that investment in skills and career development is now a key differentiator for employers as it plays a significant role in employees feeling like they have control over their personal and professional lives. Businesses that invest in their employees and help them find opportunities will reap the benefits of a productive, engaged workforce.”

Eighty-seven percent of respondents said their company should “be doing more to listen to the needs of their workforce.”

Why is advancement important?

The reason career advancement is so important:

• 75% of respondents feel stuck personally and professional over the last year
• 45% are worried that the technology is going to replace them in the future
• 25%  said a lack of growth opportunities at their company was a cause of anxiety, and
• 20% feel their skills have gone stale.

“The last year set a new course for the future of work. Surprisingly, amongst the stress, anxiety, and loneliness of the global pandemic, employees found their voice, became more empowered, and are now speaking up for what they want,” said Yvette Cameron, senior vice president, Oracle Cloud HCM. “The evolving nature of the workplace shifted the way people think about success and reset people’s expectations for how organizations can best support them. To attract and retain talent, businesses need to place a higher priority on helping employees identify and develop new skills and provide personalized career journeys so they can feel in control of their careers again.”

So now’s a great time to find out how your employees feel about career advancement and if your firm is doing enough to help them succeed. Because, as Benefits pros know, it’s much cheaper to retain employees than to hire and train new ones.