Glassdoor report on 2022’s Word of the Year in employee engagement
Following the 2021 report where Glassdoor cited that ‘Hybrid’ was there word of the year, we reveal the key takeaways from Glassdoor’s 2022 report.
Every year Glassdoor analyses the employer reviews left on their site to determine the most frequently used words and, therefore, gain a clear picture of how the UK’s employees are feeling about the world of work.
Having analysed over 700,000 reviews, the most frequently used word was inflation, with other notable words including flexible, fast-paced, hybrid, office, salary, turnover, short-staffed, and layoff and (made) redundant.
Unsurprisingly, the key themes are those which are familiar to everyone, whatever industry or job they are in: economic uncertainty and a rise in the cost of living, a shortage of talent in key areas, high employee turnover, and continuing progression from the traditional 9-5 office-based role to a more flexible future.
Source: Glassdoor
These findings indicate there are both opportunities and challenges for employers in the current employee market. Our HR Manager Gail Norman shares her top takeaways:
Financial pressures at play
The words pay or benefits appear in more than a third of reviews, highlighting that many employers are under pressure to increase remuneration at a time when they also face uncertain trading conditions and an increase in corporate expenses.
An opportunity to re-design the way we work and do business
The focus on new ways of working, indicated by words such as flexible, hybrid and office, suggest that employee satisfaction is not solely focused on pay and that the way in which companies adapt to remote and hybrid working is of increasing interest.
Approach Employers who take an open-minded and flexible have a valuable and unique opportunity to introduce new ways of working, whilst meeting the ever-changing needs of their customers, partners and suppliers.
An opportunity to upskill our teams and build for the future
Another frequently used word is fast-paced. While some employees saw this as a negative, describing their work as stressful, others saw it as an opportunity, describing their work as exciting and never boring.
This presents another opportunity for employers who are pro-active in investing in training and development, whilst also supporting wellbeing initiatives - enabling employees to learn vital new skills, manage their workload effectively and meet challenges in a positive way.
Gail Norman
Gail is our HR Manager at Accord, with a recent IPA accreditation in Diversity and Inclusion.
