COMP NEWS – The onset of COVID-19, along with the myriad of social and economic changes it brought, caused what many are calling the “great resignation” in the United States. As hiring rates skyrocketed once businesses began to open, the labor market became very favorable for workers. This has led to fierce competition over top talent, with companies forced to ask what employees are looking for in their future jobs. Last month, a survey set out to define what job attributes are most attractive to employees, revealing more about what Americans want from jobs in a post-COVID landscape.

The index provides three insights into what working adults want and don’t want in their jobs.

Unsurprisingly, compensation and benefits are the number one priority for most employees surveyed. Compensating employees well and giving them flexibility around their benefits seems to be paramount in attracting and retaining top talent.

First, individual priorities: Compensation and good benefits are at the top of the want list as first and third priorities. Nestled between them is flexibility – i.e., being able to “work remotely or in a hybrid … arrangement.” These “big three wants” are true for all demographic groups.

Next, the survey indicated that most employers don’t truly understand what American employees want from their jobs. In fact, misconceptions about where priorities would rank were rampant.

Second, collective illusions: Individuals have wrong opinions – collective illusions – about others’ priorities, or perceived societal perceptions, regarding work and career aspirations. For example, workers want to be “trusted to choose how to best do my work” ranked 8th personally, though 29th as a perceived societal opinion. Or, they want “their ideas … listened to and considered by others” ranked 11th personally, but 37th as a perceived societal opinion.

Finally, according to the survey, very few employers are truly delivering on the expectations that employees want.

Third, delivering results: The current workplace has a mixed record on meeting workers’ personal preferences and expectations. Of the bottom 15 job attributes, 50 percent or more of workers report that eight of these attributes describe their current work situation. In other words, their jobs are delivering on the lowest-ranked attributes.

To read more details about the survey and find out what Americans want from jobs, click here.

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