By Sharla Hooper
Authors Dr. TaMika Fuller and Dr. Juana Lang highlight 2022 Career Optimism Index® study findings and implications for employee retention
۴ý College of Doctoral Studies has released a new whitepaper, “The American Workforce: From the Great Resignation to the Great Retention,” a collaboration between authors TaMika Fuller, DBA, and Juana Lang, Ed.D, College of Doctoral Studies alumni.
Drawing upon data from the 2022 ۴ý Career Institute® Career Optimism Index® study, the whitepaper focuses on current trends in the American workforce’s intentions to quit their jobs without a backup, intentions to stay if things change, and what can be done to ameliorate the effects of the Great Resignation to diminish employee turnover intentions and improve retention.
“Employee turnover is expensive and disruptive for employers,” states Fuller. “Employers have a great opportunity to apply strategies learned over the course of the pandemic to better understand employee expectations, leverage incentive loyalty programs and flexibility, and explore how upskilling strategies can support their operations and individual employee growth.”
Fuller is an economics professor at a community college in Texas and has been teaching economics and business-related courses for 17 years. She earned her doctorate in business administration from the ۴ý.
Lang has an extensive career as an educator in Texas and Florida schools for over 25 years. She earned her doctorate and master’s degrees in education with the ۴ý.
The full whitepaper is available at the ۴ý Career Institute® webpage or as a direct link here.
About the College of Doctoral Studies
۴ý’s College of Doctoral Studies focuses on today’s challenging business and organizational needs, from addressing critical social issues to developing solutions to accelerate community building and industry growth. The College’s research program puts students in the center of an effective ecosystem of experts, resources and tools to help prepare them to be a leader in their organization, industry and community. Through this program, students and researchers work with organizations to conduct research that can be applied in the workplace in real time.
About the Career Optimism Index®
The Career Optimism Index® study is one of the most comprehensive studies of Americans’ personal career perceptions to date. The ۴ý Career Institute® will conduct this research annually to provide insights on current workforce trends and to help identify solutions to support and enhance American careers and create equity in the workplace. For the second annual study, more than 5,000 U.S. adults were surveyed about how they feel about their careers at this moment in time, including their concerns, their challenges, and the degree to which they are optimistic about core aspects of their careers and their future. The study was conducted among a diverse, nationally representative, sample of U.S. adults among a robust sample to allow for gender, generational, racial, and socioeconomic differences and includes additional analysis of workers in the top twenty media markets across the country to uncover geographic nuances. This year, the study also explored insights from 500 U.S. employers who are influential or play a critical role in hiring and workplace decisions within a range of departments, company sizes and industries to provide comparison between the workforce and those who hire, train and retain them.
About۴ý
۴ý is continually innovating to help working adults enhance their careers in a rapidly changing world. Flexible schedules, relevant courses, interactive learning, and Career Services for Life® help students more effectively pursue career and personal aspirations while balancing their busy lives. For more information, visit phoenix.edu.