Workforce confidence wanes in 2021: survey

Only 64% are confident about their firm's future compared to 81% in 2021.

Only 64% of employees said they are confident about their organisation's future, a drop from 81% last year, according to a survey by EngageRocket.

Younger employees, those ages 20 to 29 are less confident about their firm’s future than Boomers (ages 60 and up) with only 56% of Millennials and Gen Zs saying they are confident about their firm's future compared to 72% of Boomers.

“What is surprising is that this sense of resilience is almost the same across small, mid-sized, and large organisations with 60%, 62%, and 65% of their employees feeling confident, respectively. In other words, larger, more established companies don’t necessarily translate into greater job security and the hope of long-term success," EngageRocket said. "[Small and mid-sized business] are doing just as well, successfully using remote work and remote engagement strategies to keep their workforce motivated.”

Meanwhile, risks of burnouts increased, with those who can confidently say they can manage their stress level dropping to 44% from 53% last year. The neutral or coping population also increased to 43% from 30% in 2020.

The survey also revealed that out of the age demographic, the younger workforce tends to be struggling the most. 

When asked about the top feeling they experienced in the last seven days at work, Millennial-employees replied with “Time flies”, “Exhausted”, “Stressed”, and “Enthusiastic”.

16% of Millennials face burnout, compared to 12% of Gen X-employees, and just 5% of Boomers. The number of Millennials reporting healthy levels of mental well-being is also significantly lower at 40% versus 60% of Boomers.

“What’s more, the younger one is within the Millennial demographic, the higher the risk. Burnout among those between the ages of 20 to 29 is 3 percentage points more common than those aged 30 to 39. The former group is also 3 percentage points less likely to report “good well-being” levels. This results in a significantly lower employee Net Promoter Score among the 20 to 29 years old workforce, making this an area that requires urgent attention from employers,” the report said.

“After a year of economic volatility, personal anxiety, and unpredictable change, 2020 has been a demonstration of human beings’ incredible resilience in the face of a crisis, and our ability to adapt. As we marked the sobering anniversary of the first Circuit Breaker, it is important to take stock of the long-term impact of COVID-19 and implement tactics to address new and emerging challenges. HR and people leaders need to continually iterate the employee experience strategies with relevant and timely data,” Chee Tung Leong, chief executive officer and co-founder of EngageRocket, said.