Majority of employees say work-life harmony is most important to their overall happiness/satisfaction at work, after the right to fair pay

Less than half of remote employees (47%) feel they have a better work/life balance than when they were in the office, according to research from Irish American tech firm Workhuman®. The research also found that after fair pay, the majority of employees say work-life harmony is most important to their overall happiness/satisfaction at work. As such, Workhuman, the world’s fastest-growing Social Recognition and Continuous Performance Management platform, has unveiled the Workhuman Charter of Workplace Rights and accompanying Workhuman® Certified program. This new program provides a clear path of action for progressive companies and leaders who are pioneering effective ways to create more human workplaces. 

Eric Mosley, Workhuman co-founder and CEO, said: “We are in unprecedented times. The work environment has changed significantly, and today’s employees are demanding more. In fact, 88 percent would prefer to work for a company that has a clear policy on employee rights. This is a wake-up call and a call-to-action for both organisations and professionals; an opportunity to put a stake in the ground and be celebrated as a positive disruptor. While today’s leaders and employees want to be forward thinking and are eager to help drive change, knowing where to start often plagues progress. Workhuman Certified gives HR leaders and practitioners a distinct next step.”

New data from Workhuman shows that employees are passionate about these issues. In fact, employees said being paid fairly is most important when it comes to being satisfied and happy at work, but a third (33.3%) of workers don’t feel they’re being paid fairly enough. While fair pay is an issue that organisations will need to overcome, the majority of employees feel their organisation cares about employee rights, such as fair pay, privacy and safety (80%) but only 1/4 of employees strongly agreed their company’s leadership cares about pressing global issues (racial injustice, human rights, climate change, etc.) Overwhelmingly, the message is clear from workers: they want to work at company that has a clear policy on employee rights. That’s according to nearly 90 percent of employees surveyed.

This data is from a survey of 1,000 full-time employees based in Ireland, UK and the USA, was conducted by Workhuman in September 2020 and facilitated by Pollfish.