It’s time for the ‘big stay’ and your workers are going nowhere

The data’s in, and while some admit the term itself might be the 2024 HR bingo card, it shows the Great Resignation is out and employees plan to stick around this year.

Young tech workers are increasingly reporting job satisfaction at work.

Is this the 2024 bingo card from HR?

The “big stay” is the being pitched as the big trend for the year ahead, with the idea we will see less churn as workers begin to form a new appreciation for the job they already have.

Research suggests many workers are feeling tired and overwhelmed amid the rising cost of living and changes to the way they work, as employers increasingly demand staff stop working from home and return to the office.

The result is something called change fatigue, a term the Australian Public Service Commission describes as “a condition characterised by lingering mental and physical tiredness associated with organisational change”.

But in a surprising twist, some commentators are arguing that fatigue is causing workers to reassess their positions and are increasingly reporting that they are happy with their jobs and are staying put.

A new survey from HR tech platform HiBob shows an overwhelming majority of tech workers aged between 20 and 30 are satisfied with their jobs, with 96 per cent reporting they were either satisfied or very satisfied with their role.

What’s more, 74 per cent said their experience at work either reached or exceeded expectations, with just 18 per cent planning to quit their job in 2024.

The findings come from a cohort of 1000 tech workers, 70 per cent of whom were from Gen Z and 30 per cent of whom were millennials. HiBob believes there’s a direct correlation between Australia’s softening labour market, decreased mobility and job satisfaction.

74 per cent of tech workers say work has either reached or exceeded their expectations.

Damien Andreasen, the company’s vic- president of Asia Pacific and Japan, says it’s worth keeping in mind that tech firms are usually at the “cutting edge” when it comes to worker benefits.

“I think the thing to remember about tech industries is it’s almost kind of very progressive in terms of workplace culture,” he says. “We’re the first adopters in terms of hybrid work and remote work, and lunchtime in the office that is sponsored and learning development grants.”

HiBob has reported extensively on the abnormally high salaries across Australia’s tech industry, which in some cases see graduate workers on salaries which, with benefits, go up to about $250,000 per year.

Damien Andreasen, vice president of HR tech platform HiBob.

As for reasons why young tech workers were satisfied with their work, there was no mention of salary but HiBob found that about 57 per cent say it was because they were trusted to do their job while a further 53 per cent said they had the resources needed to get their job done.

About 80 per cent, or four in five, said their work-life balance was good and about 49 per cent felt independent and not micromanaged.

About 47 per cent of respondents were required to be in the office five days a week last year. Surprisingly, 49 per cent of respondents preferred to work from the office while 39 per cent preferred a work-from-home arrangement.

In another surprising finding, 27 per cent of respondents reported not enough time in the ­office as one of the aspects they didn’t like about their role. While 43 per cent said they disliked the limited opportunity to build relationships with their team, 38 per cent said they disliked not having a clear career path and 29 per cent disliked their company’s culture.

As for the most valued workplace benefits, 48 per cent had the ability to work remotely from anywhere for part of the year, 39 per cent valued a fully remote work model and 41 per cent valued a four-day work week.

Asked l thoughts on the term the “big stay”, Andreasen says: “We all love a simple way of kind of coining a trend.

“The big stay is no better or worse than the big quit or the quiet quit – I guess it’s just another one, it’s the 2024 HR bingo card.”

HR advisory firm Gartner has also found similar results to HiBob, with stability for the first time making it into the top 10 reasons an employee remains with their company. The company’s Global Talent Monitor survey, collected between October to December last year, found that employees were simply tired of change.

Neal Woolrich, director of Gartner’s HR Advisory, said employees were more cautious amid a rising cost of living and their employers introducing mandates on how and where they work.

“Employees experienced a multitude of enterprise changes last year, including return to work mandates and technology disruptions,” he says.

“Change fatigue, combined with the rising cost of living and a softening labour market in Australia, has many employees taking a cautious approach to their next career move.”

Location still ranks as the No.1 attraction to a role for most employees, followed by work-life balance and then compensation.

Almost half of young tech workers rate the ability to have a ‘workcation’ anywhere for a small period as their top benefit.

From there it comes down to being respected at work, manager quality, co-worker quality, ­vacations, ethics and then stability, which once sat around the 12th spot and has made it into ninth place.

While employers won’t struggle to keep employees in 2024, engagement is still a major issue, according to the survey, with 73.9 per cent of respondents adding they are only “somewhat” engaged at work.

Woolrich says employers must now begin to think about staff as a “whole person, not just the employee”.

“It’s essential to understand what employees need and want from their role. An agile approach that provides a rich portfolio of experiences, support and opportunities will be key to maximising productivity and engagement,” he says.

Gartner’s findings, however, which were based on a survey of 6000 employees across 40 countries (854 Australians) weren’t so close to HiBob’s, recording intent to stay with an employer was at 37.8 per cent, up from 35.4 per cent the previous quarter. It also recorded business confidence was now at 43.1 per cent.