Most employees prefer employers that value DEI: Survey

Most employees in the US say it is important for them to work for an employer that prioritizes diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), according to an April 2021 survey by CNBC and SurveyMonkey.

In the poll called Workforce Happiness Survey, 78% of American employees said they support working for organizations or companies that value DEI. The findings show workforce happiness and DEI are correlated.

The survey found that employees saying their employers aren’t doing enough for DEI are less happy overall. It also revealed that such workers are much less likely to say they have a good salary and that their employers offer enough advancement opportunities.

That is compared to the survey respondents who said their employers are doing enough or even doing too much to improve the situation.

More than 8,000 US employees were polled from April 8 to 18 in order to measure the current workforce concerns.

It also surfaced that 60% of employees support business leaders that speak out on political and social issues.

The Workforce Happiness Index stayed steady from November 2020 at 72 out of 100. Workers who say their employers are doing “about the right amount” to better things when it comes to diversity, equity and inclusion have a happiness index score of 75. On the other hand, employees stating their employers are “not doing enough” have a happiness index score of 63.

Thirty-three percent, or one-third, of the poll respondents say their employer is doing “a lot” to better the diversity, equity and inclusion situation, 37% say their company is doing “some” work, 14% say they see “just a little” work being done at their jobs and 12% see their organization doing no work “at all.”

A company that values DEI is a favorite employer among women (86%) more than men (72%).

“Asians (88%), Blacks (87%) and Hispanics (85%) are more likely than whites (75%) to consider it important that they work at an organization that prioritizes these issues,” said a press release CNBC owner NBCUniversal sent out, also to US and Global News.

The survey’s full results, methodology and related in-depth articles can be found on SurveyMonkey’s website, here.