Survey: Hourly employees are eyeing new jobs; scheduling flexibility a top factor

Only about half of hourly employees surveyed by Legion agreed that their employer cares about creating a good work experience for them and their coworkers.

Hiring and retention is remaining a challenge for employees, with half of hourly employees stating they are “very likely” to leave their jobs within the next year.

That’s according to Legion Technologies’ latest annual State of the Hourly Workforce report, which surveyed 1,569 hourly workers and 557 managers in North America. The report found that not only are employees overall expecting to find new jobs soon, between the ages of 18 and 24, the number jumps to 76% who said they plan to depart in the next 12 months. Older hourly workers (age 35-44, 56%, 45-54, 44%, and 55-64, 34%) are more likely to stick with their current position.

Only about half of hourly employees surveyed agreed that their employer cares about creating a good work experience for them and their coworkers, and 41% of employees reported that their companies “have not done anything to make my workplace better” in the past 12 months.

When asked to select the top three factors they value the most about their current role, most hourly workers said “I like the people I work with” (69%), followed by “I enjoy the work I do” (60%) and “I have a flexible schedule” (52%). When which top three incentives (other than the pay rate) are most likely to persuade them to leave and take a new job, several of the top choices increased from 2023 to 2024, including “ability to easily give schedule input” (45% from 39%) and “greater transparency into shift assignments and hours given” (35% from 32%).