The so-called “Great Resignation” may trickle up to the C-suite, according to a new report from Big 4 firm Deloitte and research firm Workplace Intelligence, in which 57% of employees and nearly 70% of C-suite respondents said they are seriously considering quitting for a job that better supports their well-being. Despite the shared struggle, however, the report notes that the C-suite largely doesn’t recognize that workers are struggling with their well-being, and that this disconnect has the potential to further feed into the Great Resignation if leaders don’t do more to understand the needs of their workers and demonstrate that they truly care about their overall well-being.
The firms based their research findings on a survey conducted in February 2022 among more than 2,100 employees and C-suite executives across the U.S., U.K., Canada and Australia. Some of the key findings from the report include:
People’s jobs are harming their well-being, and many say they will eventually quit as a result.
Sixty-three percent of employees and 73% of the C-suite report that their job doesn’t allow them to take time off from work and disconnect. Further, for 68% of employees and 81% of the C-suite, improving their well-being is more important to them than advancing their career right now.
The pandemic has worsened everyone’s health, but executives don’t realize how much their employees are struggling.
Around 1 in 3 workers and executives “always” or “often” feel exhausted, stressed, overwhelmed, lonely or depressed. Even so, only around half of employees and two-thirds of the C-suite report that they use all their vacation time, take breaks during the day, get enough sleep and have enough time for friends and family.
Despite their own struggles with well-being, executives significantly overestimate how well their employees are doing and how supported they feel by their leaders.
Just 65% of employees rate their physical health as “excellent” or “good,” but 89% of executives believe their workers are thriving. Further, only 56% of employees think their company’s executives care about their well-being, while 91% of the C-suite see themselves as caring leaders.
For the C-suite, there’s a marked disconnect between attitudes and action on employee well-being.
While 95% of the C-suite agree that they should be responsible for employees’ well-being, 68% admit that they’re not doing enough to safeguard employee and stakeholder health.
“While it’s promising that so many executives feel they should be responsible for employee well-being, many also feel that they aren’t taking enough action,” says Jen Fisher, Deloitte’s U.S. chief well-being officer. “It’s time for the C-suite to become more health-savvy by embracing the expanding focus on well-being in their role. This critical shift will not only benefit their own well-being and the well-being of their people, but also the long-term success of their organizations.”
