The New Employment Deal: How Far, How Fast and How Enduring Insights from Towers Watson’s 2010 Global Workforce Study

The 2010 Global Workforce Study pinpoints a watershed moment in the evolution of the employment relationships around the world. From the global recession and financial defaults to changes in business models and strategic priorities, both employers and employees are being forced to revisit some fundamental assumptions about their implicit and explicit "compact" with one another.

Our study, fielded with over 20,000 employees in 22 markets from November 2009 - January 2010, reveals a recession-battered workforce — one with lower expectations, increased anxiety and new priorities.

Among the key findings:

• The desire for security trumps everything.
• Employees understand they are responsible for their long-term financial and physical health but they doubt their ability to take on this role.
• Mobility is at a decade-long low point, and many are sacrificing career growth for a secure job.
• Confidence in leaders and managers is disturbingly low.

While some changes in employee attitudes may not endure, we are, nonetheless, at the earliest stages of a significant workplace transformation — one the recession has accelerated to different degrees around the world.

The pressures in today’s work environment will continue to alter how businesses operate and how people connect to their companies and work. At one end of the spectrum, few employers can sustain the kind of paternalistic employment proposition that has long held sway in industrialized countries. At the other end, it’s clear that technology will continue to revolutionize not only how work gets done, but also how people access their work and each other. In short, “business as usual” on the people front is not an option now and won’t be in the future, even when recovery fully takes hold.