Job security, pay, flexible working and work relationships are the top reasons for employees to stay in their jobs

A new survey from Acas has revealed that job security, competitive pay, flexible working and relationships with colleagues are the top reasons given by staff for choosing to remain in their current jobs.

Acas commissioned YouGov to ask employees what are the 3 most important things that are keeping them in their current main job. The poll found that:

  • 2 in 5 (43%) picked job security
  • 39% chose competitive pay
  • 38% picked flexible working
  • 38% chose relationships with colleagues

Acas Chief Executive, Susan Clews, said:

"Businesses are facing significant financial challenges from rising levels of inflation and staffing shortages, while workers are feeling the impact of cost of living pressures.
 

"In this economic climate, employees in Britain have picked job security and competitive pay as their top reasons to stay in their jobs. But our poll reveals that flexible working and relationships formed at work are also very important for many staff.

"These findings may be useful to employers when they are considering the types of workplace practices and benefits that can help to retain and attract talented workers."

Acas's advice is that building good staff relations and supporting flexible working can help businesses attract and retain staff as well as increase staff productivity. Flexible working can allow employees to balance work effectively with their personal life and responsibilities.

There are many types of flexible working, such as:

  • part-time working
  • flexible start and finish times
  • compressed hours where a staff member can do their hours over fewer days
  • sharing a job with someone else
  • working from home or remotely full time
  • hybrid working where someone may work from home or remotely on some days of the week

Read Acas's full advice on flexible working

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Background notes

1.  Acas commissioned YouGov to poll employees in a representative sample of British businesses. The survey was carried out online and the total sample size was 1,001 adults. Fieldwork was undertaken between 9 to 15 September 2022. All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from YouGov Plc and have been weighted and are representative of British business size.

2.  Participants were asked "What are the 3 most important things keeping you at your current main job?"
The results were:

  • job security 43%
  • competitive pay 39%
  • flexible working 38%
  • relationship with colleagues 38%
  • feeling valued 28%
  • meaningful work 21%
  • professional development opportunities 10%
  • effective leadership 6%
  • diverse workforce 2%
  • mental health support 2%
  • other 10%
  • don't know 1%
  • not applicable – there is nothing in particular that is keeping me at my current main job 11%

3.  Acas is running a training course for employers on how to handle flexible working requests on 4 November on Zoom.