Data and Research August 3, 2023

Survey: Remote Work May Help with Employee Retention

The Conference Board finds that firms with remote work flexibility find it easier to keep their employees than those that don’t.

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Remote and hybrid work arrangements are more effective for employee retention, according to the Reimagined Workplace 2023 Survey, published Tuesday by the Conference Board.

The survey of 185 human capital leaders found that employers with mandated on-site policies find it more difficult to retain workers than those that do not. Seventy-one percent of respondents representing companies with mandatory return to the office policies said retaining workers was “difficult” compared to 46% of firms with an employee choice who said the same.

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“There is some indication that voluntary turnover may be linked to work location,” Conference Board researchers wrote. “[V]oluntary turnover among fully on-site workers has increased 26% in the last six months, twice the rate of increase among fully remote workers, at 13%.”

Sixty-eight percent of human capital respondents reported that they have or are considering a wide range of policies to encourage employees to return to work. The most popular strategies include workplace events, more flexible hours and a relaxed dress code.

When it came to the success of these strategies, 73% of firms said that enticing workers to return to the office was “difficult” or “very difficult.” This concern was exceeded only by the need to find qualified workers, to which 80% answered the same. The reluctance of employees to return to the office is clarified by other studies: they don’t want to because it is bad for their quality of life. Remote work enables workers to spend more time with their family, shortens their commute, and improves their mental health. The Conference Board survey also cites a study from Stanford University, which demonstrates that remote work can improve productivity.

Robin Erickson, the vice-president for human capital at the Conference Board and the lead author of the survey, says that employers requiring workers to be onsite should plan it and “make sure their employees know why” they are returning to the office. “Going to the office to sit in a closet isn’t productive” and it is important for employers “to respect their time” because with a long commute to the office there may be “less time to actually do work.”

The survey also found that the retention problems caused by onsite mandates are especially problematic for women: “Strong mandates to return to on-site work may be working against attempts to retain workers, especially women.” Erickson explains that may be related to the still unequal role women play in caregiving responsibilities. 

Erickson says that a “Pandora’s box has been opened” and remote work is here to stay.

Data and Research August 2, 2023

Nearly 90% of Jobseekers Consider 401(k) a ‘Must-Have’ Benefit

Workers have continued to prioritize 401(k) saving despite inflation and market volatility, data shows.

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For jobseekers, a 401(k) plan is becoming a non-negotiable benefit, new data shows.   

Nearly nine out of 10 participants (88%) considered a 401(k) a must-have benefit when looking for a new job—second only to health insurance, at 90%—and more than three in four 401(k) participants would refuse a new job if it did not offer one, the Charles Schwab 2023 401(k) Participant Study found.

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“Placing such a high priority on their 401(k) is not surprising since it is their primary retirement resource, with workers counting on it to deliver 40% of their retirement income,” Marci Stewart, director of communication consulting and participant education for Schwab Workplace Financial Services, stated in a press release accompanying the research. “That’s double what workers expect from the next closest source, which is Social Security, at 20% of retirement income.”

Life insurance ranked third in the employee must-have benefit rankings at 36%, the data showed. 

Despite increased challenges from inflation and market volatility affecting participants, “retirement saving continues to be a priority for workers, who have maintained their 401(k) savings rates and largely stayed on top of their 401(k) investments over the past year,” Brian Bender, head of Schwab Workplace Financial Services, said in the release.

Comparatively, more workers are also saving for retirement than last year outside of their workplace retirement plan: 68% vs 61% in a savings account, 47% vs 33% in an IRA and 38% vs 29% investing through a brokerage account. These savers are looking to bolster their primary retirement fund with other methods of saving and investing, according to Schwab.

More than seven out of 10 (71%) employed Americans were more likely to stay with an employer that offered an employer-sponsored 401(k), 403(b) or 457 retirement savings plan, an increase from 60% in a 2022 survey, according to the “Voya Consumer Omnibus Research: Retirement Report Q2 2023” from Voya Financial, published earlier this year.

The Schwab survey found that inflation and market volatility continue to weigh on plan participants’ retirement planning, citing statistics including:

  • Inflation, at 62% of respondents, and market volatility, at 42%, are obstacles to saving for a comfortable retirement. Nearly eight in ten respondents, or 78%, say these conditions are impacting their spending and saving habits, and 36% plan to delay retirement.
  • Workers say they will need to save an average of $1.8 million for retirement, with 37% of workers thinking it’s very likely they’ll achieve this target, down by 10% from last year. But workers are still hopeful: nearly half still feel somewhat likely to reach their goals and only 14% feel they are not at all likely to reach their goals; and
  • When respondents were asked whether they agreed or disagreed they would like personal advice most workers (73%) say they would like personalized advice on their 401(k) plan, and separately, 39% say they are already receiving such advice through their plan at work when respondents were asked in what areas they would like help with retirement planning They would like help with basic retirement planning and understanding how the new SECURE 2.0 law affects their retirement plan.

The online survey of 1,000 U.S. 401(k) plan participants was conducted by Logica Research between April 19 and May 2, 2023. Survey respondents were actively employed by companies with at least 25 employees, were 401(k) plan participants and were 21-70 years old.

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