More SG workers consider quitting within 6 months of getting hired

SINGAPORE: A new study has shown that freshly hired workers are no longer as excited about being in their new jobs as they have been in the past. The “honeymoon period” for having a new job appears to be a thing of the past, the 2024 Employee Experience Trends Report from Qualtrics shows.

This is occurring at the same time that many workers in the country are changing jobs or intending to do so. Even before new hires have been in their jobs for six months, they’re already thinking about leaving, writes principal XM catalyst at Qualtrics’s XM Institute, Ms Cecelia Herbert, in a piece in The Business Times from Nov 20.

This means that bosses can no longer count on employees staying for an initial “honeymoon period” after workers are hired, which translates to higher hiring costs and lower productivity.

“And with economic growth in Asia predicted to slow in 2024, addressing the employee experience for new joiners must be a key priority as leaders find themselves under increasing scrutiny to demonstrate the impact of their investments and programmes and lift productivity,” Ms Herbert pointed out.

Qualtrics’ report also says that recently hired individuals have the “lowest levels of engagement, intent to stay, well-being, inclusion, and are the least likely to say their expectations are being met” compared to workers who’ve been around longer.

Despite this, only one-third of leaders in human resources positions stated that they give priority to the process of onboarding new hires. Workers are less and less likely to remain at their jobs, too. The percentage of workers in Singapore who intend on staring at their jobs for three years or more was 31 per cent in 2021. Today, it’s at 19 per cent. It is only at around the two-year mark that employees’ experiences begin to look up.

Across different sectors, those working in “frontline” or customer-facing positions have the lowest levels of morale and are less inclined to express satisfaction with different aspects of their work compared to retail workers, restaurant servers, cashiers, teachers, healthcare workers, and others.

“Leaders need to take advantage of the slowing hiring rates in Singapore to identify what they need to do to keep the talent they have worked so hard to attract. Rethinking the onboarding experience so that it is not a checklist, and designing related programmes for a hybrid world, will go a long way in addressing the employee experience gaps that have emerged for new joiners,” added Ms Herbert. /TISG

Read also: POLL: S’poreans prefer flexible work arrangements over 4-day work week, though many admit extra rest day would benefit their mental health