A new survey of 4,500 employees indicates that fewer are content to remain with their current employer in 2008 as they were 2 years ago.
The survey, conducted by global consultants BlessingWhite, asked employees in North America (which accounted for 71% of the respondents), Europe and Asia-Pacific the following question: "Assuming you have a choice, do you plan to remain with your organization through the 2008 year?"
Overall, 58% of respondents responded that they "definitely" plan to stay, representing a drop from 65% in the same survey conducted in 2006. However, employees in North America indicated a slightly greater desire to stay than the overall average, with 60% responding that they "definitely" plan to stay with their current employer. In contrast, less than half (49%) of Europeans planned to stay put.
An additional 32% of respondents in the United States and Canada said that they "probably" plan to stay, compared to 34% overall. The overall percentage of those who "probably" plan to stay with their organization was up from 29% in the 2006 survey.
Only 7% of employees from North America said there is "no way" they plan to remain with their current employer, compared with 11% of Europeans and 8% overall. Overall in 2006, 6% or respondents said there was "no way" they planned to stay put.
The survey further found that gender had little bearing on plans to stay or go--59% of men and 57% of women "definitely" planned to stay.
BlessingWhite noted that the majority of the respondents were managers, supervisors or above and had already been with their employer at least 1 year. The survey was conducted in December 2007 and January 2008.
"People keep on with their employer not necessarily because of the money or benefits," said Christopher Rice, CEO of BlessingWhite, in a press release. "We find that top performers are the same worldwide. If management doesn't provide employees with the opportunity to make a difference for the enterprise, engage in work that's interesting or worthwhile, and pursue their personal development, these same individuals are going to take their knowledge and skills elsewhere."
"The objective is to minimize undesirable turnover and hold onto the best workers," Rice explained.
