What is Your Workforce Thinking?

Korn Ferry's new report has some surprises, including about impostor syndrome.
Aug. 7, 2024
2 min read

Korn Ferry spoke to 10,000 professionals around the world, from entry-level to CEO, to find out what employees want from work. 

The report, Workforce 2024, asked questions from a variety of perspectives. 

Top reasons for leaving a job were:

  • Generous compensation -- 42%
  • Flexible working hours  --28%
  • High job security - 27%

Top priorities for staying in a job were:

  • Generous compensation -- 37%
  • Flexible working hours 30%
  • High job security - 28%

The top three priorities for choosing a new job were:

  • Generous compensation -- 37%
  • Flexible working hours 38%
  • High job security - 30%

A surprising finding was that 71% of CEOs say they have imposter syndrome and feel stretched beyond their abilities. A dictionary definition of imposter syndrome is "the persistent inability to believe that one's success is deserved or has been legitimately achieved as a result of one's own efforts or skills."

This belief is felt at different levels as follows:

  • Senior executive --65%
  • Senior leader --57%
  • Mid-level leader --49%
  • First- level supervisor/manager --52%
  • Non-leader --33%

Another finding that might be surprising to many managers is that one of the non-negotiable perks is flexible hours.  In the choosing a job category 47% of non-leaders expressed this opinion while 30% of senior executives did. 

Of course, no survey is complete without a question about AI. In this survey 65% of workers under 55 said they were excited about the potential of AI. Those who were over 55 weren't quite as excited as that number was 39%. 

The report, which explores other issues such as upskiillng and culture, concludes that regardless of  age, gender, region or level of the organization an employee is at, flexibility, competitive pay, a positive company culture and upskilling opportunities are key and should be at the top of any organization's talent strategies. 

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