Briefings Magazine

Just Pay Me

Flexibility. Security. Firm values. These matter to workers, but a groundbreaking Korn Ferry survey finds compensation continues to play a paramount role.

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It’s only natural. With unemployment rising and the job market clearly tightening, many corporate leaders may find themselves shifting their focus away from employees’ main priorities and triggers for motivation. The most cynical will ask: What choice do they really have? Isn’t it better to focus on the greater needs of the business than on granting more flexibility, improving culture, or boosting pay?

The reality, of course, is much different. Experts say smart firms have always known that the state of a workforce is critical—regardless of economic and job conditions—and is too often ignored by weaker competitors. Indeed, given that companies dedicate a significant part of revenue toward labor, knowing exactly what is driving workers—what is convincing the most talented ones to join and stay at companies—could well be their most important priority.

With that in mind, Korn Ferry created its Workforce 2024 report, surveying 10,000 professionals across all job levels in six countries and regions. It’s a rare global snapshot of workers’ feelings and main priorities, which turn out to include flexibility, job security, and most of all, compensation. That’s a key lesson for leaders, since many of the headlines today focus on only remote-work issues. As Ariel Avgar, professor of labor relations at the ILR School at Cornell University, comments in the report, “The desire for flexibility is not substituting worker expectation for job and financial security.”

What other insights did we find? Read on, as we dig into workplace issues ranging from benefits to culture to fears about AI, and reveal surprising results on where workers are facing a crisis of confidence—and where they may be too self-assured.

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