Teambridge, the AI-native workforce management platform, today unveiled its 2025 market research report, The Retention Puzzle: What Today’s Workers Want and What Drives Them Away. The research surveyed more than 1,000 hourly workers across five major industries, including healthcare, manufacturing, events and venues, and long-term care, about the challenges and frustrations of their roles.
Despite job reports and macroeconomic data showing slowing job growth, hourly workers, who make up the majority of the job market, aren’t clinging to their roles. The data is clear: even in a soft job market, hourly workers won’t stay with an employer or agency if their needs aren’t met.
The findings reveal that only 29% of hourly workers are likely to stay with their current employer in the next year. And while pay is a factor, half of the respondents (50%) said that flexible hours, reliable scheduling, and good communication make or break their decision on where to work. These factors outweigh growth opportunity and promotion, which only 31% of workers said was a reason they would stay with an employer.
Similarly, hourly workers stated they need the ability to easily clock in and out, get paid at the end of a shift, and view and claim shifts.
“Making the roles of essential workers reliable isn’t just a nice-to-have, it’s also critical to the US economy,” said Tito Goldstein, co-founder and co-CEO of Teambridge. “Even with a cooling job market, hourly workers aren’t staying put out of fear. The ‘Essential Economy’ that we surveyed here represents $7.5 trillion in output per year, which equates to 52 million jobs. These are workers that can’t be replaced with AI, and we need them to stay in the workforce in these important jobs to keep the country running.”
Key findings include:
- Only 51% of hourly workers feel like they have control over their own schedules.
- Communication breakdowns are common and drive turnover. 39% of workers have missed shifts or deadlines because of poor communication. That number spikes even higher to 50% among retention-risk workers, those who say they’re likely to leave their employer or agency within the next 12 months.
- Pay matters, but flexibility and reliable scheduling are crucial, too. While 68% of workers say pay amount is a top factor when choosing where to work, flexible hours (46%) and reliable scheduling and shift availability (40%) round out the top 3.
- Support gaps are widespread. More than 85% of workers needed help outside of business hours for things like swapping shifts or asking questions and couldn’t get it.
- Faster pay drives retention. 68% of workers are more likely to stay with a company or agency if they can access wages as they are earned, rather than on a fixed payment schedule. That number jumps to 78% among retention-risk workers.
- Tech is a dealbreaker. 22% of workers have quit because of the tools they were asked to use, and another 9% have considered it.
Industry-specific challenges:
- Over half (52%) of healthcare workers left a job or stopped claiming shifts because of communication breakdowns with management.
- Light industrial workers are more likely to expect simple, reliable tools like easy clock-in and out and shift visibility (52%).
- Events and venues workers are more likely to have missed a shift or deadline due to communication breakdowns (44%).
“Reliability has to be the new employer or agency value proposition,” said Arjun Vora, co-founder and co-CEO of Teambridge. “Today’s workers are more likely than ever to vote with their feet. When they can count on their schedules, their pay, and their ability to reach someone for help, they stay. The good news is, all of this is in the control of employers and agencies.”
As the hourly workforce continues to evolve, one priority is emerging across every sector: reliability. Employers who deliver it, through clearer communication, predictable and flexible scheduling, and faster pay, will be the ones who keep top talent.
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