Communications of the ACM
High-Tech Talent Set to Take Off Post Economic Recovery
There are growing signs that high-tech workers who have endured salary freezes or reductions and added workloads over the past 12 months will be looking for new jobs as soon as an economic recovery gets underway. In the midst of the worst economic downturn in decades, CTOs and VPs of engineering need to be taking steps to retain their top high-tech talent. If the message is that people should be happy just to have a job during this tough time, companies could experience high turnover rates. Thus, companies that cut salaries, benefits and other perks such as professional development and mentoring programs could experience a loss in high-tech talent right when business could be poised for growth.
Employees that have spent the past year cutting costs and working more hours, all while losing personal time and restricting their own vacations out of fear of losing their jobs, will feel disengaged and disenchanted with employers. A loss of employee engagement threatens companies' ability to benefit from an economic rebound. Job security is one of the biggest predictors of employee engagement and widespread layoffs have hurt this engagement.
A report from Gartner found that unrelenting workload and stress is a significant barrier to building engagement. Moreover, Deloitte in 2009 reported that employee morale and trust in senior management has taken a turn for the worst. And research from Towers Perrin in 2008 showed that 38% of global employees felt disengaged or disenchanted, with 85% of those feeling disengaged planning to leave their companies.
From Network World
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