Who cares? Companies that care are better positioned with talent

by Bryan Strickland, Journal of Accountancy

Gallup research recently found that half of U.S. employees report that they're thriving in their lives at work and at home, but the findings shouldn't be construed as a case of the glass being half full.

Rather, the 50%-positive response rate represents the lowest figure since Gallup debuted its Life Evaluation Index in 2009.

"Leaders need to prioritize creating a culture of employee wellbeing that surpasses their current efforts if they want sustainable employee performance," write the authors of Gallup's look at workplace trends for 2025.

Just 30% of U.S. employees were engaged at work in the first quarter of 2024, the lowest level since 2013, according to further Gallup research.

So, what are organizations already strapped for talent to do? While a recent Journal of Accountancy podcast episode focused on best practices in the hiring process, Gallup focused on ways to improve the outlook for current and future employees.

The impact of caring
For three years, Gallup research has consistently shown that around 25% of employees believe "my organization cares about my overall well-being." Before early 2022, the last time those numbers were so low was 2014.

The bottom line? Gallup research indicates that a culture of caring matters to employees and therefore matters to a company's bottom line.

When employees strongly agree their organization cares about their well-being, they are:

• 4.4 times as likely to be engaged at work and 53% less likely to be watching for or actively seeking a new job;
• 7 times as likely to strongly agree they would recommend their organization as a great place to work; and
• 73% less likely to feel burned out at work very often or always.
  According to Gallup, nearly half of employees at the onset of the pandemic believed their organization cared about their well-being. The circumstances are different now, but creating a culture of caring may be more important than ever.

AI to the rescue?
Artificial intelligence has the potential to make employees' jobs easier and make them more productive while helping employers navigate a difficult labor market.

Almost half of employees say AI has improved their productivity and efficiency, but AI initiatives have been slow to take hold, according to Gallup research.

Just one-third of employees reported that their organizations have begun integrating new AI to improve business practices. While AI, relatively speaking, is in its infancy, the percentage remained "essentially unchanged from 2023 to 2024," according to Gallup.

"So far, employee adoption of AI in the workplace is lagging behind the hype," the workplace trends authors wrote, noting that 7 in 10 employees said they never use AI and just 1 in 10 said they use it at least weekly. "This could be a sign that leaders' aspirations and vision for using AI in the workplace have not yet translated to clear direction or support for employee adoption."

Filling the feedback gap
Improving feedback frequency by managers is another way to exhibit caring.

While 59% of managers believe they offer recognition of good work to direct reports, just 35% of direct reports said that's happening. Half of managers said they provide weekly feedback, but just 1 in 5 direct reports said they receive weekly feedback.

Those gaps no doubt contribute to this disconnect: 42% of managers said they're building collaborative teams; just 30% of direct reports agreed.

— To comment on this article or to suggest an idea for another article, contact Bryan Strickland at Bryan.Strickland@aicpa-cima.com.