Today, Guild, the leader in opportunity creation for America’s workforce, released the latest installment of its American Workforce Survey (AWS), a look into the issues, motivations, and opinions of workers across the United States.
Findings show that America’s workforce is reacting to economic uncertainty by changing behavior and reevaluating priorities. Similar to the AWS findings in the fall, employees are thinking differently about what they value in a job, prioritizing economic stability, and looking for long-term opportunities for growth, emphasizing the need for employers to double down on creating opportunities for career growth and mobility for workers.
The US economy also appears to be driving shifts in what workers value in their employer. Specifically, they’re looking for employers that provide stability and growth with 91 percent reporting that long-term stability was “very important” or somewhat important in where they worked. Employees’ continuously growing expectations of their employers explains why nearly three quarters of respondents said that employers providing education and training was very or somewhat important to them.
“This quarter’s American Workforce Survey draws a stark contrast between Wall Street and Main Street. The average American ranks long-term job stability and career development as their top focus, even above pay raises,” said Rachel Romer, Guild CEO and Co-Founder. “As technology company layoffs dominate the headlines, only 22% of mainstreet employees are very concerned about layoffs and furloughs. These insights from employees mirror the recent jobs and labor data, and ought to serve as a reminder of the tale of two economies we live in today.”
Alfonso, an employee who works in financial services, embodies this dual track. He is very concerned about the overall economy but is committed to making change as a result. He moved jobs recently in a response to concerns about rising costs. His new role offers him more time and a “better trajectory and more options.”
“This opened up a huge window of opportunity for me,” he said.
Read more about this quarter’s findings, including snapshots into nuanced data across tech, healthcare, and retail industries, and review last year’s inaugural American Workforce Survey report conducted by Guild Research here.
This quarter’s results include responses from 2,078 U.S. workers between the ages of 18-60, weighted to represent the general population of workers based on age, gender identity, industry, and household income.
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