Adecco has published a global study on the career aspirations of workers, which highlights the different visions that companies and employees have of what work should be like as an idea.l, as well as the differences between countries. However, there is also common ground between what matters most to companies and workers.
In this post we will analyse the results of this study, in which 1,300 workers and 150 companies from the United States, Australia, India, Germany, Belgium, Spain, France, Italy, United Kingdom, Switzerland and Latin American countries (LATAM) participated. From it, recruiters, companies and workers themselves can draw important conclusions when it comes to defining the characteristics of jobs and the relationship between organisations and the people who work in them.
First of all, let's talk about coincidences.. Employees and companies agree that the three most important factors of career aspirations are, in this order, salary (53%), working environment (36%) and career development opportunities (25%). However, companies tend to overestimate the importance that salary has for workers among their overall career aspirations.
After these three key aspects, there are important divergences in career aspirations:
Workers value more than companies everything to do with the well-being, health and safety at work, as well as flexible working arrangements, especially in relation to the working hours and place of work. These differences are most pronounced in the United States, the United Kingdom and Germany.
Companies and workers agree on similarly assess the company culture (ranked 8th for companies and 10th for employees)
The workers do not give equal importance to brand awareness than companies. For workers it ranks 16th in their career aspirations, while for companies it is 7th).
In terms of leadership styles within companies, employees favour “charismatic leaders” (those who are committed to their teams and have the ability to ability to build confidence and motivation) or by “servant leaders” who focus on the people's well-being This is not shared by companies, which prefer the “success-obsessed” type of leader (demanding intensity at work without losing respect for the team).
Finally, companies overvalue collaborative work. 71% of companies promote it, but only 54% of workers value it. However, workers in Spain and LATAM do value it highly (>80%).
All this data highlights an issue that companies and recruiters should reflect on: There are fundamental differences between what companies believe their employees value and what employees actually value in their career aspirations.. Companies tend to overvalue organisational or prestige issues, such as brand awareness, while workers are more concerned about issues related to their well-being at work.
When workers are asked which company they would like to work for, 22% appoints the GAFAM companies (Google, Amazon, Facebook, Apple and Microsoft), with Amazon and Google being the favourites. The reasons they give when asked why can be summed up in one sentence: they work hard, but enjoy it more (work hard, play hard).
The ideal company must also care about ethics, people and diversity. These issues are central to the career aspirations of one third of workers. In addition, ethical and social responsibility issues are more important the higher the educational level of the employee surveyed. However, only 9% of companies rank social responsibility, specifically environmental responsibility, as the most important issue.
Collaborative working, although more valued by companies, is also important for workers, especially for Generation Z, of which 57% of workers say they are happiest working collaboratively in open spaces.
If we focus on Spain, most workers think that they are well paid in relation to their job. Only 38% consider themselves to be underpaid and only 5% are thinking of leaving their current job.
But wages are not the only important thing in Spain. Employees value safety, health and wellbeing and the working environment more than in other countries, with career development opportunities being relegated to 5th place. What is essential for the 40% is flexibility in terms of working hours and location. In the job aspirations of Spaniards, the new post-covid normal must be more flexible. This is why companies should offer different social benefits oriented to your needs, whether it is a ticket restaurant, a childcare ticket for those employees who have children or a transport ticket, among others.
Spanish employees also count among their professional aspirations working in companies that are accountable and transparent, have a diversity and inclusion mindset, address inequalities and care about reducing their climate impact.
Collaborative and open-plan working is a clear winner among workers' preferences in Spain, with more than 80% preferring this way of working.
The selection and recruitment process is also important for employees. Most of them opt for a mixed system in which the online and face-to-face parts are combined. Among the aspects mentioned, the completion of an online questionnaire to check whether their skills are suitable for the position they are applying for, gamified access tests (simulations, role-play, escape room, etc.) and contacts via SMS/WhatsApp are also highly valued.
Regarding the process of taking up work, Most of them prefer to have a personalised adaptation plan designed for them. with enough time to get to know the different parts of the company. In addition, aspects such as being assigned a colleague to help them get to know life at work better and having a digital training platform to ensure they are up to date with their skills are positively valued. Traditional roles such as the existence of an HR figure or the supervision of a manager in the on-boarding process are much lower on the preference scale.
Knowing the aspirations of workers is essential. for companies, as they must focus on implementing changes and improvements that are in line with the wishes of their current and future employees. For a company to function, it must take into account the needs and values of its employees, so that it can grow positively and achieve a good working environment.
