The global workforce has sent out a stark warning to employers, who can expect to face new employee pressures in the year ahead.

After emerging from “the Covid years” with a number of staff fed up, ready to quit their jobs and prepared to move on to something new, the latest survey reveals employees even more likely to quit than they were last year.

The just released PwC 2023 Hopes and Fears Global Workforce Survey which details the attitudes and behaviours of some 54,000 workers in 46 countries and territories, contains a warning to CEOs that they must “reinvent” the workplace if they are to retain and develop employees.

Even in the face of a global softening of the economy, what PwC last year dubbed “The Great Resignation” looks set to continue.

One in four (26 per cent) employees say it is likely they will change jobs in the next 12 months, up from 19 per cent last year.

Those most likely to change include those who feel overworked (44 per cent), struggle to pay the bills every month (38 per cent), and Gen Z (35 per cent).

Arthur Wightman, PwC Bermuda territory leader, says: “The message in PwC’s survey is clear: CEOs must reinvent the workplace to retain and develop employees.

“With the ongoing economic uncertainty, we see a global workforce that wants more pay and more purpose from their work. Addressing these needs will be critical as leaders seek to transform their workplaces enabling business model reinvention, profitable growth and job creation.”

Megan Green, PwC Bermuda, partner and diversity and inclusion leader, says: “Purpose, company culture and diversity and inclusion also remain key to employee concerns.

“Among workers who said they are likely to change employers, less than half said they find their jobs fulfilling compared to 57 per cent of those unlikely to change employers.

“Those likely to change employers are also eight percentage points less likely to say that they can truly be themselves at work than their counterparts who intend to stay [51 per cent versus 59 per cent].”

Globally, employees are increasingly feeling cash-strapped as a cooling economy and inflationary challenges continue to impact workforce wallets. The proportion of the global workforce who said they have money left over at the end of the month has fallen to 38 per cent, down from 47 per cent last year.

One in five workers (21 per cent) now work multiple jobs, with 69 per cent doing so because they need additional income. The economic squeeze is also driving up pay demands, with the proportion of workers planning to ask for a pay increase jumping from 35 per cent to 42 per cent, year on year.

Among workers who are struggling financially, that number rises to nearly half (46 per cent).

Bob Moritz, PwC global chair, says: “The global workforce is divided into two – those with valuable skills who are well set to keep learning, and those without. We found that often those without the skills are less financially secure and less able to access training in the skills of the future.

“In a world where CEOs know they need to transform their businesses to succeed, they need to combine the benefits of technology with a plan to unlock the talents of all workers. It is in no one’s interest for businesses to chase the same group of skilled workers while the rest of society gets left behind.”

Workers struggling financially are also less able to meet the challenges of the future including the need to develop new skills, adapt to the rise of AI.

The report suggests a third of workers could have skills that are being overlooked.

Recent research published by the World Economic Forum in collaboration with PwC, found that creating skills-first labour markets could create 100 million jobs around the world.

PwC’s 2023 CEO Survey found that four in ten chief executive officers think their company will not survive more than ten years without transformation.

The workforce is a little more optimistic in the Hopes & Fears Survey, with the equivalent figure standing at 33 per cent. Although such pessimism rises to 40 per cent among younger generations.