Last year, the “Big Stay” emerged as the latest employee retention trend, with Americans quitting their jobs in fewer numbers—a stark contrast to the “Great Resignation” of 2021-22. Now, HR professionals are joining that movement in a big way.

Fewer than a third (31%) of HR professionals plan to look for a new job in the next six months, down from 56% in July, according to a recent Robert Half survey. That decline is larger than in tech, accounting and finance, and administrative and customer service; meanwhile, respondents in the marketing and creative industry and legal profession reported a greater likelihood of leaving their jobs.

Factors driving employee retention among HR professionals

What’s driving this dramatic shift in the retention of HR practitioners? Primarily, experts say, there are two catalysts: economic concerns and greater job satisfaction.

According to Glassdoor’s Employee Confidence Index released Monday, the percentage of HR pros reporting a positive six-month business outlook fell to 52.8% in February from 65% a year ago. This downward trend was the largest among the 24 industries examined.

“Lower employee confidence leaves employees stuck between a rock and a hard place. Anxious employees are likely keeping an eye on outside opportunities, but at the same time, economic anxiety is leading many employees to hunker down and prioritize job security,” says Daniel Zhao, lead economist at Glassdoor, tells HRE.

HR has been particularly affected by this lack of optimism, given significant job cuts in many HR departments, particularly to recruiting teams, which HR itself had to carry out, Zhao says. For example, Meta’s talent acquisition team took a larger layoff hit than other parts of the company last year because the tech giant anticipates hiring fewer people in 2024, Forbes reports.

Although HR professionals reported the biggest drop in positive business outlook, they still have a more optimistic view than the average across industries: 45.1%.

Read full article here