A new survey finds that a majority manufacturing employees under age 25 stayed with their employers because of training and development (69%) and career opportunities (65%)
The Manufacturing Institute’s Center for Manufacturing Research partnered with the American Psychological Association on the study that also found 8 in 10 workers are staying with their employer because they enjoy the work.
“With 814,000 jobs open in manufacturing, there has been a great deal of attention on recruitment, but part of the equation is also retention,” said Manufacturing Institute Executive Director Carolyn Lee. “We partnered with the APA to provide manufacturers a deeper dive into the forces affecting retention—what works, what motivates employees and where employers likely can improve.
“As the study shows, not all employees are motivated by the same factors. It’s important to understand key differences among employee groups so that we can continue to foster the most engaging, productive and inclusive workplaces possible,”.
Other findings include the following:
- Employees who feel valued were more than four times as likely to report high levels of work engagement (59% vs. 13%) and less likely to say they feel stressed out on a typical workday (16% vs. 66%) or that they plan to leave the company within the next year (2% vs. 12%).
- More than 9 in 10 senior leaders are satisfied with training and development, compared to two-thirds of frontline workers.
To read the full study, click here.
