The Heard and The Heard Nots
The Heard and The Heard Nots
The Heard and The Heard Nots
the Heard-Nots
There is troubling inequity in the feedback loop at organizations across the globe. Although most employees
feel generally heard by their employer, recent research from The Workforce Institute at UKG reveals the
barriers that exist between employees and their leaders when it comes to actionable change.
Perhaps this stems from the decades-long notion that employees are an organization’s most valuable
asset, when, in fact, they are so much more. They’re tactical and strategic change-makers who see
inefficiency firsthand and often seek to voice critical points of observation and ideas for improvement.
However, more often than not, organizations don’t have the right mechanisms in place to actively listen
to their people — leaving many employees to feel like another cog in the machine rather than a crucial
contributor to company success.
Through this research, we have discovered three core truths about the voice of the employee:
1. People leaders must ensure that all employee voices are heard equally and equitably.
2. Employees count on their managers to not just listen to their feedback, but embrace and
meaningfully act upon it.
3. Investing in the voice of the employee isn’t just good for culture — it’s good for business.
These findings should create difficult but necessary dialogues among employees, managers, and teams
and encourage people leaders to grapple with the realities of their unique employee voices. Do employees
feel comfortable speaking up? When they do voice their concerns, are we using their feedback to innovate?
Ultimately, do we instill transparency, trust, and care in communication across our organization?
I believe that the leaders who succeed at listening to their employees are the ones who recognize that their
employees are the differentiators their organization needs to reach its goals. Instead of focusing squarely
on the bottom line, these leaders recognize that employees who are given a voice are more highly engaged
and have a higher sense of belonging. By harnessing this energy, leaders can ensure their entire workforce is
working in harmony to energize their company culture, serve their customers, and, ultimately, protect and
grow the bottom line.
In spring 2021, we surveyed more than 4,000 employees across 11 countries to put a finger on the
pulse of how employees feel their voice is making an impact at their organization, including asking
the simple question: Do you feel heard at your workplace? Here’s a snapshot of what they told us.
Global response
81% heard not heard 19%
Country Age
Australia 76% 24% 18–24 85% 15%
Gender sexuality
Personality
Introvert 79% 21%
Motivation
Achievement-driven 88% 12%
Work status
Remote worker 85% 15%
Level
Entry level 75% 25%
Industry
Healthcare 75% 25%
75%
at their workplace are not heard
fairly or equally
40%
These voices are most underrepresented in Australia
(53%), New Zealand (52%), Canada (51%), France (51%),
and Germany (51%).
of employees don’t feel their
feedback leads to actionable
change.
Remote workers
67%
Hybrid workers
50%
Essential workers
50% of essential workers feel they have
moderate or high influence on decision-making
at their company — far fewer than remote
workers (76%) and hybrid workers (67%).
Essential workers in New Zealand (35%), Canada
(40%), and Switzerland (41%) feel that they have
the least influence.
I feel more or much more heard at my workplace of parents feel their voice
now than I did at the beginning of 2020 has been ignored by their
31%
manager or employer.
Non-caregiving employees
55%
58%
Caregiving employees
of parents want to be more
Non-caregivers in Canada (23%), the Netherlands
heard one year from now.
(24%), and the U.K. (29%) feel least heard year
over year.
Manager or leadership
18%
effectiveness
Employees in Switzerland
(23%), France (24%), and
Germany (25%) felt least
heard on workplace safety.
34% of employees
would rather look for a
position on a different
team or at a different
company than share
their views and concerns
with management.
Employees in India (55%) as
well as younger workers across
the globe (40%) are more likely
to make the switch than voice
their concerns.
One of the worst things that organizations can do is ask for feedback and do nothing with it. The best way to
show employees that you’re listening to them is to do something with the feedback they provide — even if
it’s to consider it and then let the employee know that the organization will not be implementing their idea or
proposal for a specific reason.
— Sharlyn Lauby, SHRM-SCP, author of HR Bartender and president of ITM Group Inc.;
global advisory board member of The Workforce Institute at UKG
3x
more likely to say they
feel heard than highly
disengaged employees.
Employees with a very
high level of belonging are
4x
more likely to say they
feel heard than those
with a very low level of
belonging. When employees feel their voice is heard…
74%
Survey Methodology
Research findings are based on a survey conducted by panelists have passed a double opt-in process and complete
Savanta, Inc. across the U.S., the U.K., Canada, Mexico, India, on average 300 profiling data points prior to taking part in
Australia, New Zealand, France, Germany, the Netherlands, surveys. Respondents are invited to take part via email and
and Switzerland between May 7–11, 2021. For this survey, are provided with a small monetary incentive for doing so.
4,049 full-time and part-time employees were asked general Results of any sample are subject to sampling variation. The
questions around how employees communicate their views magnitude of the variation is measurable and is affected by
to their managers and/or employer in an effort to influence the number of interviews and the level of the percentages
matters, both large and small, that affect them at work. The expressing the results. In this particular study, the chances are
study targeted full-time and part-time working employees 95 in 100 that a survey result does not vary, plus or minus, by
who are 16+ years of age. Respondents were recruited through more than 1.5 percentage points from the result that would be
a number of different mechanisms, via different sources, to obtained if interviews had been conducted with all persons in
join the panels and participate in market research surveys. All the universe represented by the sample.
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