For millions of employees, work simply isn’t working for them anymore. The problem is so big that nearly one in ten young people who have not entered the workforce say they never intend to. A further third don’t feel they’ll be able to meet their career ambitions anymore. Where did it go so wrong, and how do we fix it? 

The social contract has broken down
Part of the reason people are beginning to become so disillusioned with work is that the deal isn’t attractive enough anymore. Many of those working full time still find themselves struggling to pay for essentials, home ownership among young people has halved and as a result, younger people are taking longer to leave their family home, preventing them from living independently.  

The average age of the global labour force is 40 years old. Which means if you were at least 18 when the market crashed in 2007/08, you’ve been at the sharp end of financial instability ever since. The events of financial crisis, the pandemic and the cost of living crisis have scarred a generation so much that the economics of being an under 40(ish) person today is disturbing; they are saddled with student debt, excluded from the housing market and as a result are the officially the unluckiest generation in history when it comes to money.  

Unemployed is better than unhappy
Despite the advances of the quality of our lives today, our happiness is decreasing. There has been a gradual decline in happiness from 1988 to the present day. Twenty years ago, the life satisfaction of an 18-year-old showed some of the highest readings among all age groups. However, in 2022 the same age group reports the lowest scores of any group. Now the reasons for this decline in happiness could be varied and complex, from too much screen time, to increased illness, but either way it’s a problem for employers because people no longer believe that working hard will lead to a better life.  

Young workers are now putting their own needs ahead of work, perhaps for the first time ever – and on an immense scale. Many would rather be unemployed than unhappy if their work is impacting their wellbeing, or not enhancing their lives. Young adults have newfound confidence in making decisions other generations may not have done so as easily. The abundance of jobs may be adding to employees’ ability to feel more confident in walking away quickly from a job that isn’t giving them what they need. A much easier decision to make when you aren’t on the housing ladder and still living at home, which as of 2021 accounted for a record-breaking third of the under 34-year-olds.  

We have to make work more attractive
In focus groups run by The Resolution Foundation in the UK, it’s clear that for many workers, pay is now far less important to them than the other parts of the deal they get by going to work. Almost half of our youngest workers have poor work life balance, are struggling with their wellbeing and suffering from financial instability. I believe if work can support people with more of these things, we can make work, work. While the list of what needs to be fixed can be long and varied, and many are out of the hands of HR teams, there are two solutions that the people function can focus to make employment more attractive: 

 1. More time to spend on success outside of work: In 1928, the British economist John Maynard Keynes made a prediction that his grandchildren would only need to work a 15-hour week, because technology would do so much of our jobs for us. While we’re not quite there yet, over the last 100 years there is downward trend in the number of hours we work and the recent splurge of successful four-day week experiments suggest we may soon nudge even closer to a short working week.  

If we are to better understand what our people need from work, we have to get better at understanding how work fits into their lives. For millions, unpaid work absorbs a significant part of their lives. Your employees are caregivers, parents, community participants and family members. We have to give them jobs and careers that can fit into the other things in their lives. Gone are the days where we had to fit around work. It’s a buyer’s market (especially for the most talented) so we have to give them schedules that allow them to fit around their other responsibilities and desires.  

But this isn’t just about giving them flexibility over their hours or days, it includes where they work – if that’s a choice that can be offered. And it’s also about discovering all the ways this flexibility can be delivered; holiday trading, season ticket loans and car parking are part of a suite of options that can enable employees to remove points of friction from their day and free up time.  

2. A better value proposition: Active participation as part of the workforce requires people to have a degree of financial stability and good overall health. Almost one in two of our youngest workers are stressed by money, more than 60% feel overwhelmed by the pressure to succeed and this is resulting in young adults being most at risk when it comes to mental health. But for these young workers in particular, employers have a unique opportunity to support them.  

The pandemic had a disproportionately negative effect on young adults. But most worryingly, more than 1 in 4 say they are now afraid their poor mental health will affect their ability to get a job. If we can get better at supporting the mental health of our people, employers can make their value propositions stronger too. The more an organisation shows it supports those who struggle with their wellbeing, the more attractive it becomes. 

The American Psychological Association found that 81% of workers agree that how an employer supports their mental health will be an important consideration for them when they look for work in the future. At Benefex we found that figure to be as high as 92%. But in addition to their mental health, employees also say they want more financial wellbeing support. As many as 72% of people want more financial support from their employer, with two thirds saying better workplace financial wellbeing would increase their commitment to an employer.  

While workplace wellbeing support appears to have dwindled since the pandemic ended, workers are saying they want more wellbeing support now than they did at the height of the Covid crisis (as some of the support that was available during the pandemic has dropped off or been discontinued). Throughout the pandemic, wellbeing-related benefits became more important than I think they have in the 20-plus years I have been working in the industry. The pandemic forced many employers to enrich their employee benefit schemes with health and wellbeing at their core. The benefits we offer as part of our value proposition are starting to play an even more compelling role in how we make work more attractive to people. 

The wellbeing angle means younger employees are now even more likely to engage with their benefits packages than their older colleagues are. In fact, nowadays the demand for workplace benefits to support wellbeing are soaring. Even the UK Government is now considering offering traditional health benefits on a widescale to better engage people in work.  

Work has to bring a better deal to the table
While the Government continues to fuel a cycle of distrust, employers remain the most trusted institution in the lives of employees all around the world. A compelling 78% of people globally say the employer is their only trusted institution in life. People overwhelmingly like their employers; they just need more from them. And I now believe that a secret to a more positive, inclusive and well society sits in the hands not of the Government, but the employer.  

When I was recently invited to speak at Parliament about the future of employability, I raised this issue. While everyone else was talking about the Governments role in helping people to build the skills needed for the future of work, I was asking employers how we make work more attractive. The very day I was talking at the House of Commons was the same day the UK experienced its largest day of industrial action in a decade. Illustrating my point perfectly that unless their core needs of being paid and being looked after aren’t met, the future of employability isn’t a conversation worth having.  

The various strikes that have taken place across the world so far in 2023 have had a profound impact on the fabric of work; while a quarter of a million more Americans unionised, a further 60 million wanted to but couldn’t. UK union membership is also on the rise and unions are joining up with climate action groups to push for better pay and benefits. The benefits we can offer our young workers in 2023 can support them in ways many of us never had the opportunity to benefit from. And more compelling than that, employee benefits can offer so many great things; suddenly not working or working for yourself begins to look less appealing.  

The benefits employers offer can help us get healthcare quickly and more affordably. They can educate us on financial products and concepts. They can provide a safety net against the worst things life can throw at us. They can support our development, ease our stress, and give us experiences we’ll remember for life. To me, that’s a pretty attractive proposition.