Checkr and Everee Study Uncovers Critical Opportunity to Disrupt HR Infrastructure to Support Basic Employee Needs
The 2022 State of the Worker Report reveals 20% of workers plan to stay at their job for less than a year, rethinking how businesses hire and retain employees.
According to the 2022 State of the Worker Report launched today by Everee and Checkr, nearly 7 in 10 U.S. workers live paycheck to paycheck. Furthermore, 48% of individuals have either lost an opportunity, know someone who lost an opportunity or worked for an employer that declined to offer someone an opportunity due to a criminal record. In the face of the Great Resignation, if businesses want to keep up with their talent goals, they must first rethink how they can support the fundamental needs of their employees.
The 2022 State of the Worker Report set out to uncover U.S. workers' financial health and their access to work. The report finds several factors that contribute to the financial instability of today's workers and shortage of talent.
For one, the report found that 64% of workers are stressed about their finances and 68% live paycheck-to-paycheck, including a third of workers who make over $100,000 per year, indicating that pay cycles aren't matching workers' needs. Furthermore, 54% of workers have to wait at least two weeks to get paid when 79% want to be paid within a week.
"Due to several factors, including the pandemic and rising inflation, many workers are struggling financially," says Everee CEO Brett Barlow. "When they’re forced to wait two weeks to receive money they’ve earned, it adds to the stress. Businesses need pay strategies that support the financial health of their workers."
The U.S. labor shortage presents an opportunity for businesses to understand what’s driving employees to leave the workforce. While the 2022 State of the Worker Report reveals pay was the most important factor when choosing where to work, a lack of opportunity, limited benefits and a slow hiring process were major deterrents for workers as well.
To keep up, companies must find ways to make their process more candidate-centric, remove bias, and broaden their talent pools. As it stands currently, the report found organizations still have a long way to go when it comes to building a truly equitable operation. Just slightly more than half of workers (52%) are confident their employers are unbiased.
"Employers often don't think about the background check as a point of friction in their hiring process. In fact, many companies are constricting their talent pool without the right technology. In the current hiring environment, employers need to onboard seamless and integrated background check technology that reduces bias and moves qualified candidates through the funnel quickly," says Checkr CPO Denise Hemke. "Candidates have a lot of choice, so businesses need to move fast. And there are modern solutions out there that help companies build a candidate-centered experience into their workflow."
While companies are figuring out what benefits to add to the mix in order to attract and retain talent, it seems there is ample opportunity to rethink the very infrastructure of how companies hire and serve their people.
Other report findings include:
- 71% of people under 35 live paycheck to paycheck and 65% of people over 35
- 1 in 3 workers has experienced a financial crisis that’s led to missing work
- 72% workers don’t know why the 2-week pay cycle exists
- 20% of workers plan to stay at their job less than a year
- 20% of workers have removed themselves from a job opportunity because the background check process took too long
- 81% of workers want a chance to explain their background check if it’s not clear
Report
2022 State of the Worker Report
A 2022 report by Checkr and Everee uncovering U.S. workers' perceptions on pay, hiring, and equality in the workplace.