- Quality Of Life At Work Statistics
Research Summary: For any business that wants to improve retention and reduce turnover, maximizing employee loyalty is important. However, in recent years it seems that employee loyalty toward companies has been trending downward.
No doubt, these trends will affect the job market, as well as businesses and companies.
To find out more, we’ve gathered all of the essential trends and statistics about employee loyalty in the US. According to our extensive research:
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Employees who don’t feel recognized are 2x times more likely to be job hunting.
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40% of employees quit their jobs due to a lack of career potential.
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55% of employee engagement is driven by nonfinancial recognition.
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64% of employees agree that trust between them and senior management is very important to job satisfaction.
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Employees who believe their company has a purpose greater than profits are 27% more likely to be loyal.
For further analysis, we broke down the data in the following ways:
Why Employees Stay | Why Employees Quit | Loyalty and Engagement
General Employee Loyalty Statistics
Despite company interest in maintaining employee loyalty, issues still persist. To better understand current trends and how to foster retention, here are some general facts about employee loyalty:
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20% of HR managers say employee retention is their #1 priority.
While this might seem like a low number, it is actually high in comparison to other priorities. For example, only 14% of HR managers say recruiting is their #1 priority, and 12% say it’s company culture.
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The average employee exit costs employers at least 33% of their annual salary.
Turnover has a high price and can cost employers over six months’ worth of that employee’s salary. For example, under these averages, it will cost an employer up to $20,000 to replace an employee making $60,000 a year.
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The top driver of employee retention is recognition and appreciation.
Employees are more likely to stay loyal when they feel recognized and appreciated for their efforts. The other top drivers include work-life balance and training and development. All of these drivers combined are far more important than salary.
Why Do Employees Stay?
While recognition, work-life balance, and development all drive retention, what specifically convinces employees to stay? Well, according to our research:
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33% of employees who rate work-life balance highly plan to stay at their current jobs.
In fact, any employee who rates their work-life balance highly is 10% more likely to stay in their current job than an employer who doesn’t.
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94% of employees would stay longer if companies invested in their careers.
A majority of employees, regardless of industry, are highly interested in learning and growing in their careers. This presents an important opportunity for employers who want to improve retention.
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Employees who feel they’re progressing in their careers are 20% more likely to still be at the same company in one year.
Nothing drives employees away like stagnation, making it clear that to maintain employee loyalty, companies should invest in regular progression over time. For example, employees should regularly receive new tasks, new training, and new responsibilities.
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93% of employees feel that showing empathy is important for retention.
Employees are especially repulsed by callous bosses, as not only do 93% find empathy crucial for retention, but 82% directly state that they would leave a position to work for a more empathetic organization.
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40% of Millennials say a company’s work environment affects their decision to stay.
With the favored environment of Millennials being a peaceful, team-oriented one, 88% say they prefer a collaborative environment over a competitive one.
Why Do Employees Quit?
All it takes is one detrimental factor for employees to leave and look for employment elsewhere. To find out more about why employees quit, we’ve gathered some essential trends. Consider the following:
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79% of quitters cite lack of appreciation as their main reason for leaving.
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63% of employees quit because they feel there are no opportunities for advancement.
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57% of employees quit because they feel disrespected in the workplace.
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A lack of flexibility is also cited as a reason for quitting by 45% of employees.
Most Common Reasons Employees Quit
| Reason for quitting | Employees who say it was a factor |
|---|---|
| Lack of appreciation | 79% |
| No opportunities for advancement | 63% |
| Insufficient pay | 63% |
| Felt disrespected | 57% |
| Child-care issues | 48% |
| Lack of flexibility | 45% |
| Poor benefits | 43% |
| Working too many hours | 39% |
| Wanted to relocate | 35% |
| Working too few hours | 30% |
| Employer required COVID-19 vaccine | 18% |
Loyalty and Engagement Statistics
Employee engagement and loyalty are intrinsically connected, as more engaged employees are more likely to stay with their employers. However, that doesn’t mean high engagement is currently easy to come by. Here are the facts:
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Only 36% of US employees are engaged in the workplace.
Globally, that percentage is even worse, with only 20% of employees being engaged in the workplace.
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Companies with high employee engagement experience 59% less turnover.
Additionally, high engagement also leads to 41% less absenteeism among employees as well.
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Employees who feel their voice is heard are 4.6x more likely to do their best work.
Company culture can contribute a surprising amount to engagement and retention, as employees who feel a sense of belonging are also 5.3x to do their best work.
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66% of employees believe training and development are the employer’s responsibility.
Employees expect their employers to provide them with the skills needed to succeed. 84% of employees believe their company should be involved in continuing to help them build skills over time.
Employee Loyalty FAQs
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Do companies like loyal employees?
Yes, companies like loyal employees. And there are many reasons why, as loyalty comes with the following benefits:
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Productivity. Happy and loyal employees can increase productivity by up to 12%. In turn, this saves costs and can drive annual growth.
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Retention. Loyal employees are up to 87% less likely to leave their current company. This drastically reduces turnover and absenteeism, which saves companies thousands of dollars.
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Purpose. Loyal employees are more likely to contribute to a company’s desired purpose and culture. This has the effect of not only improving the workplace but also attracting more customers.
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How important is employee loyalty?
Employee loyalty is very important. For instance, the average employee exit will cost employees 33% of that employee’s annual salary. In most cases, that constitutes over $15,000 lost, and the company will have to continue spending on hiring.
Additionally, loyalty comes with powerful benefits, like increased productivity, reduced turnover, and higher work quality.
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How is employee loyalty measured?
Employee loyalty can be measured through a Net Promoter Score. Known as NPS, this measurement asks employees to rate the question: “How likely are you to recommend this product to someone else?”
Often, an NPS score is on a scale of one to ten, or -100 to 100, where the highest number equals very likely, and the lowest equals not likely.
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Are loyal employees more productive?
Yes, loyal employees are up to 12% more productive. For context, remote work has also been praised for increasing productivity, which it did so by 13%.
Comparably, loyalty is an equally important factor for increasing productivity.
Final Thoughts
Employee loyalty is essential for fostering a successful business, and as it turns out, nonfinancial recognition is the most effective way of improving it. More important than an impressive paycheck, employees value recognition and appreciation, work-life balance, and training and development.
In fact, 55% of employee engagement is driven by nonfinancial recognition.
Despite this, many US companies are still struggling to maintain loyalty. And, with a lack of loyalty comes poor retention, high absenteeism, and soaring costs. To turn these trends around, companies will need to prioritize empathy, training programs, and flexible scheduling to reap the benefits of employee loyalty.
References
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McKinsey & Company – Money can’t buy your employees’ loyalty
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SHRM – Respect and trust top the list of most important employee job satisfaction factors
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Paycor – Paycor Survey Reveals Retention is the #1 Priority of HR in 2023
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TERRA – The Real Cost of Employee Turnover in 2021
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Workest – 6 Main Drivers of Employee Retention
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Hire – The Ideal Millennial Work Environment
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Leadership Freak – Nearly 80% Say Lack of Appreciation Is a Major Reason for Leaving
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Gallup – U.S. Employee Engagement Data Hold Steady in First Half of 2021
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Forbes – The Overlooked Way To Reduce Employee Turnover By 59%
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Trailhead – Understand the Business Impact of Inclusive Leadership
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Clutch – How Should Companies Deliver Employee Training and Development Opportunities?
- Quality Of Life At Work Statistics
Author
Jack Flynn is a writer for Zippia. In his professional career he’s written over 100 research papers, articles and blog posts. Some of his most popular published works include his writing about economic terms and research into job classifications. Jack received his BS from Hampshire College.
