Employers are experiencing a mass exodus from the workforce

While some have speculated that this “Great Resignation” is about disgruntled employees trying to find work that makes them happy, new survey findings suggest otherwise.

A 2022 national survey of working Americans commissioned by Strategic Education, Inc. reveals new information about employee sentiment and the value of continuing education.

Happy doesn’t equal loyal

Workers are generally happy at their jobs but are still looking.

78%
say they are happy at their current job
46%
of those workers say they are open to other job opportunities
39%
are actively looking for a new job

Education benefits could help employees

feel less stagnant,
more valued,
and happier in their jobs

62%
of respondents who indicate they feel incomplete, stagnant, frustrated and/or uninspired at their current job believe they would feel better about their current job if their employer paid for workforce training or continuing education

Of those workers who say their current employer offers its employee tuition benefits…

86%
report their general level of happiness as fairly or very happy in their current job
76%
of survey respondents who said their current employer offers its employees tuition benefits reported feeling valued by their current employer

Employees believe employers should invest in their continued education

and feel education will help them advance in their careers.

83%
believe employers should be investing in employees’ continued education
44%
say they must continue their education to remain competitive in the modern workforce
34%
say they must continue their education to earn a promotion

Tuition benefits could help improve employee
loyalty and retention

62%
would be likely to change jobs if recruited by another employer that offers better tuition benefits – even if pay and other benefits were the same

Of those workers whose jobs offer tuition benefits…

90%
are satisfied with the benefits offered by their employer
58%
say they would likely remain with their current employer if their current employer offered tuition benefits

But employees need more than just tuition reimbursement

Employees are more likely to use education benefits if they’re paid up-front by an employer and are given time-off and/or flexibility to pursue their education by their employer.

74%
of respondents say they would use an employer-sponsored tuition benefits program if they had the flexibility to choose what to study and which school to attend
75%
of respondents say they would be more likely to use an employer-sponsored tuition benefits program if the employee doesn’t have to pay out-of-pocket, to continue their education

Employees were interested in making a job change

if it meant they would have more flexible time off to re-skill or pursue a new credential (e.g., earn a degree, certification, professional development training, etc.)

34%
Likely
40%
Very
likely

About

Overview of the Survey

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that 4.5 million workers in the U.S. voluntarily quit their jobs in March of 2022 alone and this mass exodus continues to challenge employers. To better understand the employee sentiment and the root causes of the Great Resignation, Strategic Education commissioned a workforce development survey by Atomik research of more than 2,000 employees.

Methodology

The online survey was served to 2,009 employees in the United States. The margin of error fell within +/- 2 percentage points with a confidence interval of 95 percent. The fieldwork took place between March 17th and March 22nd, 2022. Atomik Research is an independent creative market research agency.

About Workforce Edge:

Workforce Edge is a complete employee education management platform powered by Strategic Education, Inc. The Workforce Edge platform serves as a solution to help employers offer their workforce higher education options that are relevant, innovative and affordable. Since launching in January 2021, Workforce Edge has partnered with many industry-leading employers to help administer tuition assistance benefits.

About Strategic Education, Inc.

Strategic Education, Inc. (NASDAQ: STRA) (www.strategiceducation.com) is dedicated to helping advance economic mobility through higher education. We primarily serve working adult students globally through our core focus areas: 1) U.S. Higher Education, including Strayer University and Capella University, each institutionally accredited, and collectively offer flexible and affordable associate, bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral programs including the Jack Welch Management Institute at Strayer University, and non-degree web and mobile application development courses through Strayer University’s Hackbright Academy and Devmountain; 2) Education Technology Services, developing and maintaining relationships with employers to build education benefits programs providing employees access to affordable and industry-relevant training, certificate, and degree programs, including through Workforce Edge, a full-service education benefits administration solution for employers, and Sophia Learning, enabling education benefits programs through low-cost online general education courses that are ACE-recommended for college credit; and 3) Australia/New Zealand, comprised of Torrens University, Think Education, and Media Design School that collectively offer certificate and degree programs in Australia and New Zealand. This portfolio of high quality, innovative, relevant, and affordable programs and institutions helps our students prepare for success in today’s workforce and find a path to bettering their lives. Strategic Education supports more than 1,000 employer partners in their efforts to upskill and retain their workforce and provides a suite of groundbreaking education solutions to help employers stay one step ahead of their competition.

Resources

We encourage you to take a look at supporting documents.

Full Survey ResultsPress Release

News

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Harvard Business Review

Why Your Organization Needs an Employee Education Benefits Program

Harvard Business Review

Retaining and Training a Remote Workforce

Chief Learning Officer

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