
A report published by employee engagement platform WorkL has found that workers from minority groups are more likely to leave their current role and have a significantly higher wellbeing risk.
WorkL’s Employee Experience Report 2022 analysed data from its employee experience database and found employees with disabilities and LGBTQ+ employees were at a greater risk of changing their jobs and were less happy at work compared to non-disabled or heterosexual counterparts.
The flight risk for people with a disability is 34% compared to 26% for those who are non-disabled. The Wellbeing risk for disabled employees is 40% compared to 32% for non-disabled people and disabled people also score 5% points lower when asked if they feel fairly paid compared to non-disabled people.
Kamran Mallick, CEO of Disability Rights UK who sits on WorkL’s Employee Experience Report panel commented:
“It’s 2022 and I started in my career over 20 years ago with the desire to bring about change that led to society embracing the idea that all of us have something valuable to bring. Disability is not about them and us, it is about all of us. Our workplaces benefit when we look through the lens of intersectionality and value the lived experience we bring. It’s right for business, it’s right for the country, it’s right for all of us.”
Findings in the report also highlight that employees in the LGBTQ+ community are significantly more at risk in work compared to employees who identify as heterosexual. Their flight risk is 6% higher than heterosexuals (32% compared to 26%), their Wellbeing risk scores were higher (39%/32%) and they are three points behind on pay.
The reports findings were corroborated by the CMI’s Workplace Inclusivity Illusion Report, which found nearly two-thirds of LGBTQ+ workers in the UK felt overlooked for opportunities due to their identity.
When broken down by sector, the report found of those working in retail, only 58% reported feeling happy at work (compared to a global average of 64%), falling to the lowest of any industry.
One key improvement over the five years assessed by WorkL’s report was a closing of the ‘engagement gap’ between management level employees and their reports, with less than 3 percentage points separating the overall engagement of these two groups.
The Founder of WorkL, former Trade Minister and former Managing Director of Waitrose, Lord Mark Price, said of the report’s findings:
“Our report provides a very detailed analysis of the last five years on employee experience, and I urge employers to have a read to understand how they can improve their employees’ experience at work. I hope that organisations over the next 12 months will focus on nurturing a positive and sustainable workplace culture, help their employees with the cost-of-living crisis, put more resources into career development and focus on continuing to balance office working and home working to help keep Wellbeing scores high.”