Gloat data: Opportunity for growth worth more to employees than money

New data reveals what is most important to people at work ahead of Employee Appreciation Day

March 4, 2021

New York—March 4, 2021—In anticipation of Employee Appreciation Day on March 5, talent marketplace and workforce agility platform Gloat has released new data about what keeps people happy with their jobs.

Surprisingly, it’s not about the money.

In a survey of over 1,000 full-time employees in the US, Gloat found that many American workers—particularly from under-represented groups—feel undervalued. When asked what they value most in a workplace, employees ranked opportunities for advancement, respect, and feeling that they have room to grow and learn as their top priorities.

Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, some 3 million women have left the workforce in the United States alone. These survey results suggest this is merely the symptom of a much deeper problem.

“As employers continue to place much-needed emphasis on the value of an inclusive workplace, it’s critical that employees from under-represented groups feel valued and see room for advancement if we are to keep them in the workforce,” said Gloat CEO Ben Reuveni. “Gloat’s platform can help. It creates an internal talent marketplace where employees can explore new opportunities to work on projects, learn new skills, establish mentorships and grow within an organization. By democratizing career development and creating an open marketplace for talent and career growth, we’ve seen Gloat really impact the opportunities for under-appreciated demographics to grow within the organizations, across our entire customer base.”

American employees want opportunities for growth and change

The survey also found a third (34%) of all American workers—including 46% of Black employees and 38% of Latinx employees—feel that their company isn’t utilizing their full potential. This is especially important given the finding that job satisfaction has more to do with how employees perceive their prospects for advancement and growth than title or compensation.

Almost two-thirds (64%) of the employees surveyed said they plan to leave their current job.

The top five reasons include:

Lack of opportunity for growth
Want a change or to do something new
Unsatisfied with compensation or benefits
Feeling underappreciated
Feeling pigeonholed or stuck in their position

Nearly half (47%) of employees wished their company would gain better visibility into their skills, and more than 43% would like opportunities to work on projects outside of their job description.

Women need more room for advancement in the workplace

The picture is even starker by gender: Almost twice as many women (43%) as men (24%) feel their company doesn’t utilize their full potential.

The spread of men and women in leadership positions corroborates this: In the representative sample of more than 1,000 U.S. employees surveyed:

82% of women were in entry-level, associate, or specialist roles
80% of men were in managerial or executive positions
At the management level, 45% were men and 12% were women
At the C-level, 16% were men and just 2% were women

When asked what they would like to see their company do to utilize their potential more fully, women were significantly more interested in having a mentor (21%) than men (12%).

About Gloat

Gloat’s pioneering Talent Marketplace platform has been adopted by some of the world’s largest and most innovative employers, including Unilever, Schneider Electric, Standard Chartered Bank, PepsiCo, Walmart, Nestlé, HSBC, and more. The Talent Marketplace empowers enterprises to democratize career development, unlock skills, and future-proof their workforces using a powerful, purpose-built AI and consumer-grade user experience. Founded in 2015, Gloat is headquartered in New York, with offices around the globe and a large R&D center in Tel Aviv, Israel.

For more information, visit www.Gloat.com.