58 HR Statistics You Need to Know Right Now
Like many, you may be keen to forget that 2017 ever happened.
Perhaps you saw more political divisiveness among employees than in previous years. Maybe you had to handle more sexual harassment cases than ever before (and even though this reflects progress, dealing with sexual harassment is never fun). Regardless, as 2017 begins to flicker and fade, we want to cast a light on some of the most insightful HR nuggets the year brought us — many of which highlight the importance of HR in the workplace.
So, without any further ado, here are 58 HR stats we’ve learned in 2017 that we think you’ll likely need to be aware of as we head into 2018. These stats come from seven different bodies of research—quoted directly from the source aside from a few exceptions—and represent only a small portion of all the great HR insights available online. Enjoy.
58 HR Statistics:
Benefits Strategy & Benchmarking Survey – Gallagher
1. Seven percent fewer employers believe their health benefits are competitive (from 2016 to 2017).
2. “While promoting health and wellbeing is an organizational priority for over two-thirds of employers, just 52 percent believe they have an effective wellbeing strategy.”
3. “Only 22 percent of small employers are currently engaged with worksite wellness.”
4. “A boost in adoption is expected with 29 percent of employers planning to add wellness programs in the next two years. If this projection is correct, 70 percent of employers will offer these opportunities by 2019.”
5. “Sixty-one percent (61 percent) of employers agree or strongly agree they communicate successfully.”
6. “Just 32 percent of employers ran at least one engagement survey to assess the motivation, satisfaction and commitment of their workforce from 2015 to 2016.”
Employers are less confident their health benefits are competitive.
State of the American Workplace – Gallup
7. “51 percent of U.S. employees say they are actively looking for a new job or watching for openings.”
8. “Actively disengaged employees are almost twice as likely as engaged employees to seek new jobs.”
9. “12 percent of employees strongly agree their organization does a great job of onboarding new employees.”
10. “Three in 10 U.S. employees strongly agree they have the materials and equipment they need to do their work right.”
11. “Four in 10 U.S. employees strongly agree that their supervisor, or someone at work, seems to care about them as a person.”
12. “54 percent of office workers say they would leave their job for one that offers flexible work time.”
13. “33 percent of employees are engaged compared to 70 percent of employees at top organizations.”
[tweetthis url=”http://bit.ly/2zc2qkH”]The majority of U.S. employees are actively looking or watching for new jobs.
Job Seeker Nation Study – Jobvite
14. 27 percent of women—vs just 15 percent of their male coworkers—believe that men are paid more for equal work.
15. “Women are 82 percent more likely to believe that men are paid more for the same work.”
16. “69 percent of men believe that men and women are paid the same amount for the same work—while just 54 percent of women agree.”
17. African Americans employees are twice as likely than white employees to rank workplace diversity as very important (60 percent and 27).
18. “37 percent of job seekers think job prospects will be worse in the coming years in light of the presidential administration—while 35 percent think they’ll be better.”
19. “46 percent of job seekers say it was harder to find a job than last year, but 15 percent said finding a job is easier this year than last.”
20. “42 percent of job seekers job hop every one to five years, compared to 34 percent last year.”
21. “Almost 35 percent of job seekers applied to their current or most recent position via referral—especially millennials.”
22. “Almost half (48 percent) of job seekers would be willing to take at least a 10 percent pay cut to work at a job they’re more interested in and passionate about.”
23. “45 percent of job seekers check their work email after hours every day—many at the request of their employers.”
24. “A quarter of job seekers have a second source of income outside of the regular nine-to-five—mostly because they have to.”
25. “80 percent of workers consider themselves friends with coworkers—and a quarter have been romantically involved.”
25 percent of workers have been romantically involved with their coworkers.
Select Task Force on the Study of Harassment in the Workplace (2016) – EEOC
26-32. “Of the total number of charges received that alleged harassment from employees working for private employers or for state and local government employers, approximately:
45 percent alleged harassment on the basis of sex
34 percent alleged harassment on the basis of race
19 percent alleged harassment on the basis of disability
15 percent alleged harassment on the basis of age
13 percent alleged harassment on the basis of national origin
5 percent alleged harassment on the basis of religion”
33. “Anywhere from 25 percent to 85 percent of women report having experienced sexual harassment in the workplace.”
34. Why the wide range? “Researchers have concluded that many individuals do not label certain forms of unwelcome sexually based behaviors—even if they view them as problematic or offensive—as “sexual harassment.”
[tweetthis url=”http://bit.ly/2zc2qkH”]There’s reason to believe sexual harassment is even more prevalent than reported.
The Business of Healthy Employees – Virgin Pulse
35. “77 percent [of employers] are expanding beyond physical health to include other programs, including financial and mental health initiatives.”
36. “90 percent of employees believe their wellbeing programs positively affect work culture.”
37. “59 percent [of employers] offer wellbeing programs to increase engagement, while 49 percent want to improve workplace culture, versus 55 percent and 45 percent of small organizations.”
38. “For the first time in this survey’s five-year history, mental health programs topped the list as the most popular offering, supplanting physical activity.”
39. “85 percent of employees say managing their stress levels is an important factor in their program participation.”
[tweetthis url=”http://bit.ly/2zc2qkH”]Mental health programs are becoming more popular than physical health programs in the workplace.
Re-Engineering Performance Management – Gallup
40. “Only two in 10 employees strongly agree that their performance is managed in a way that motivates them to do outstanding work.”
41. “Only 14 percent of employees strongly agree that the performance reviews they receive inspire them to improve.”
42. “29 percent of employees strongly agree that the performance reviews they receive are fair, and 26 percent strongly agree they are accurate.”
43. “26 percent of employees strongly agree that the feedback they receive helps them do their work better.”
44. “Only 21 percent of employees strongly agree that their pay and incentives motivate them to achieve their goals.”
45. “50 percent of employees clearly know what is expected of them at work.”
46. “26 percent of employees strongly agree that their manager continually helps them clarify priorities.”
47. “30 percent of employees strongly agree their manager involves them in goal setting. These employees are nearly four times more likely to be engaged than other employees.”
48. “44 percent of employees strongly agree that they can see how their work goals connect to the organization’s overall goals.”
Improve your performance management efforts now!
49. “Employees who receive daily feedback from their manager are three times more likely to be engaged than those who receive feedback once a year or less.”
50. “Employees who strongly agree that their manager holds them accountable for their performance are 2.5 times more likely to be engaged.”
51. “19 percent of employees strongly agree that their manager recently reviewed their greatest successes, and those who do strongly agree are 3.8 times more likely to be engaged.”
52. “Two in 10 employees strongly agree that their performance metrics are within their span of control, and even fewer employees—14 percent—strongly agree that the performance reviews they receive inspire them to improve.”
[tweetthis url=”http://bit.ly/2zc2qkH”]Daily feedback = 3X more likely to be engaged!
Bad Boss Index – BambooHR
53-58. 44 percent of employees say that a boss has been the primary reason they have left a job. Of those respondents, the top five characteristics of their boss that made them leave:
Management style: 37 percent
Condescending attitude: 30 percent
Mean or had a bad temper: 27 percent
Inappropriate behavior: 26 percent
Harassed employees: 24 percent
[tweetthis url=”http://bit.ly/2zc2qkH”]58 HR Stats You Need to Know Right Now
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Bryson Kearl is an HR content creator at BambooHR. His role enables him to study HR's impact on organizations, and he is a diehard believer in the vital role HR plays in building company culture to achieve overarching business objectives.
