2024 Hourly Workforce Report: Over a Quarter of Hourly Workers Want to Unionize

Santa Clara, California — Workforce Management (WFM) innovation companyLegion Technologiesreleased its annual2024 State of the Hourly Workforce Reporton June 13, 2024, to help businesses understand the needs and expectations of their hourly workers and managers.

The report, which surveyed over 1,500 hourly workers and 550 managers in North America, details the urgency for employers to improve retention and morale by enhancing the employee experience. Findings show that only half of hourly workers believe their employers care about creating a good work experience for them and their colleagues, and 41% of respondents said their company has taken no action to improve the workplace in the past 12 months.

Hourly worker dissatisfaction is significant, and given that 27% would like to see unionization efforts at their organization in the past year, they are ready to take matters into their own hands. The report also shows that 50% of hourly workers plan to leave their jobs within the next 12 months, with nearly half of them hoping to leave within 3 to 6 months. In industries that rely on hourly workers facingdifficulty filling open positions, employers must restore hourly workers' confidence in their ability to provide a good work experience.

Understanding what hourly workers value in their jobs helps employers build a better workplace experience, and it's clear these employees place high importance on the interpersonal aspects of work. When asked what they value most about their current position:

• 69% said the people they work with
• 60% said the work they do
• 52% said schedule flexibility

Existing technology could facilitate greater focus on the interpersonal aspects of work, but employers are not fully leveraging these tools. Nearly 66% of managers believe AI can make scheduling easier, but less than 20% use programs that automatically generate schedules. More concerning, most managers still use traditional methods: contacting employees by phone, text, or email to fill open shifts. This is not only inefficient and error-prone, but it also impacts their ability to develop their teams and interact with customers. If employers could reduce time spent on administrative tasks like scheduling, 67% of managers would use that time to coach their teams, and 27% would use it for customer interaction.

"Hourly workers care about schedule flexibility, recognition for good work, and benefits like early access to wages. The interest in unionization indicates employers' lack of action in meeting these needs," said Sanish Mondkar, founder and CEO of Legion Technologies. "While managers play a critical role in creating an exceptional employee experience, they are overwhelmed by heavy administrative work, scheduling management, and compliance tasks, leaving little time to focus on the most important aspects of their jobs, such as coaching and team development. The new imperative for employers is to eliminate monotonous and repetitive tasks through AI and automation, enabling managers and hourly workers to focus on the human side of work."

Legion's 2024 State of the Hourly Workforce Report also revealed the following findings:

• Increasing unionization efforts and labor movements reflect growing dissatisfaction:Among employees who have experienced workplace labor movements, the top factors triggering them include low wages (68%), poor benefits (56%), poor work-life balance (51%), and lack of schedule flexibility (46%).
• The hourly worker turnover crisis persists, and retention will remain a formidable challenge in the coming year, especially among younger generations:Continuing last year's trend, up to 76% of hourly workers aged 18 to 24 plan to leave their jobs within the next 12 months—significantly higher than those aged 35 to 44 (56%), 45 to 54 (44%), and 55 to 64 (34%).
• Greater flexibility, benefits, and rewards are attracting hourly workers to new job opportunities, making them key to retention and recruitment:When asked what incentives, besides pay, would prompt them to accept a new job, 57% said flexibility to pick up extra shifts and swap shifts, 56% said more recognition and rewards, and 36% said the ability to access wages early. However, early access to wages is more important among younger generations, with 43% of employees aged 18 to 24 and 47% of those aged 25 to 34 saying it would prompt them to accept a new job.
• Managers see the potential of AI to improve efficiency and engagement:When asked to rank the tasks they most want to automate with intelligence, managers listed "employee scheduling" as their top choice. If employers could reduce time spent on administrative tasks, 67% of managers would use it to coach and develop their teams.
• Managers want to provide more flexibility for their teams but face difficulties in balancing employee needs with business needs:A quarter of managers said the hardest part of scheduling management is matching employee needs with business needs, and nearly the same proportion (24%) said staying within labor budgets is the hardest.

To view the full 2024 State of the Hourly Workforce Report, visitlegion.co/2024-state-of-hourly-workforce-report。