Worker preferences efforts too much on managers’ development, skills and rewards. Only 36% of non-managers who responded to Adecco’s survey said that their In this context of diverging labour-market company is investing effectively in developing their outcomes, issues around the quality of work have skills, compared to 64% of managers. come to the fore. This section reviews some of the latest worker preference research to analyse which job attributes are of most importance to workers Employment shifts across currently. As a starting point, data shows workers, sectors openness to changing employer. Data on worker 24 25 preferences from CultureAmp and Adecco find that more than a quarter (33% and 27% of workers, The past two years have witnessed a volatility in respectively) do not see themselves at their current the demand and supply of goods and services company of employment in two years’ time. In resulting from lockdowns and supply-chain line with this, a little under half of workers (42% disruptions. The global economic rebound has and 45%, according to CultureAmp and Adecco, reconfigured the sectoral distribution of employment respectively) actively explore opportunities at across industries. Figure 6 presents OECD data different companies. demonstrating that, while Information Technology and Digital Communications experienced a strong 26 Worker surveys at both CultureAmp and rebound in most countries, the Accommodation, 27 Randstad suggest that salary levels are the Food and Leisure; Manufacturing and Consumer; main reason workers decide to change their job. and Wholesale and Consumer Goods sectors are 52% of Randstad respondents say they worry experiencing a slower rate of recovery. Since the about the impact of economic uncertainty on their first quarter of 2019, a majority of countries have employment and 61% of respondents to Adecco’s experienced employment growth in Professional worker-preference survey worry that their salary is Services, Education and Training, Health and not high enough to keep pace with the cost of living Healthcare, and Government and Public Sector, but 28 given rising rates of inflation. employment in the Supply Chain and Transportation and Media, Entertainment and Sports sectors lags Additional data explores the protection and flexibility behind 2019 levels. of employment: 92% of respondents to Randstad’s 29 employee survey say job security is important In addition to the pandemic-induced employment and more than half of these respondents wouldn’t shifts we have seen across sectors during the accept a job that didn’t give assurances regarding last few years, generative AI models are likely to job security. 83% prioritize flexible hours and 71% continue shaping sectoral shifts in employment. prioritize flexible locations. While AI applications are shown to be effective 33 general-purpose technologies, the development of A fourth theme identified by workers is work- general-purpose technologies have previously been life balance and burnout: 35% of CultureAmp hard to predict, which is why regulation needs to respondents indicate that work-life balance and be both prompt and adaptable as institutions learn burnout would be the primary reason to leave how these technologies can be used. their employer. Workers responding to Randstad’s 30 employee survey value salary and work-life Through research conducted for the Future of Jobs balance equally, with a 94% share identifying both Report, LinkedIn has identified the fastest growing aspects of employment as important to choosing to roles globally over the past four years, shedding work in a particular role. further light on the types of jobs employers have been seeking (Box 1.1). Data also suggests that diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) at work is particularly important The transformations that labour markets are 31 to young workers. According to Manpower, experiencing have also increased the need 68% of Gen Z workers are not satisfied with their for swifter and more efficient job reallocation organization’s progress in creating a diverse and mechanisms within and across different firms and inclusive work environment, and 56% of Gen Z sectors. The coming years represent a generational workers would not accept a role without diverse opportunity for businesses and policy-makers to leadership. Meanwhile, data suggests that fewer embrace a future of work which fosters economic women than men are trained. inclusion and opportunity, sets in place policies which will influence not only the rate of growth Lastly, workers across age ranges indicate but its direction, and contribute to shaping more dissatisfaction about training opportunities. inclusive, sustainable and resilient economies and 32 Manpower data show that 57% of surveyed societies. employees are pursuing training outside of work, because company training programmes do not teach them relevant skills, advance their career development or help them stay competitive in the labour market. Respondents to Adecco’s survey criticize companies for focusing their Future of Jobs Report 2023 15