45% of HR leaders say their employees are fatigued: Gartner

Leader and manager effectiveness is the most frequent top priority (72% of respondents) among HR leaders in the Asia Pacific (APAC) region for 2023, according to a survey by Gartner.

The other top organisational priorities for HR leaders in APAC next year are: organisational and change management (59%), employee experience (57%) and HR technology strategy and management, with recruiting (42%) and the future of work (42%) in equal fifth place.

“Rising inflation, scarce expensive talent, and global supply constraints represent a new combination of variables for HR leaders to consider in their 2023 strategies,” said Arj Bagga, advisory director in the Gartner HR practice.

45% of HR leaders say their employees are fatigued from the continuous disruption of the last several years. High employee change fatigue and increased work friction are correlated with a lower intent to stay with the organisation. Gartner research shows only 43% of employees who experience above-average change fatigue intend to stay with their organisation, compared with 74% of employees with low levels of fatigue.

“In Australia, as organisations continue to shift to hybrid ways of working, companies need technology to help manage a growingly fragmented workforce. HR executives are positioning digital solutions to help manage a decentralised labour force, manage performance, sustain culture, and develop employees,” said Bagga.

Employers are also confronting the reality that their workforce planning assumptions no longer hold in today’s environment. For instance, employers are finding it increasingly difficult to predict future skills or to fill future talent gaps primarily through buying and building talent.