Dive Brief:
- Nearly all professionals surveyed by EY said that workplace culture dictates their decision to stay at a job.
- Moreover, 60% said specifically that their workplace culture influenced their decision to stay at their job “a great deal” or “a lot.”
- L&D was a priority for many workers in the 5,000-person survey, but nearly three-quarters felt that their employer was not investing. Generation Z survey-takers also were less likely than other generations to prioritize pay in their ranking of retention factors.
Dive Insight:
Culture has become a more complicated aspect of the workplace in recent years, due to a top-down war on inclusion and employee well-being across the U.S.
Previously, workplace experts advised that HR pros highlight diversity, equity and inclusion’s benefits to workplace culture by simply changing program names to limit backlash. These recommendations included using words like “employee experience” or “belonging” rather than DEI.
This best practice was reflected in 2024 when, among other companies making title changes, SHRM dropped the “E” from DEI. At the time, the HR organization’s CHRO told HR Dive that the name of the program was a “distraction” from the brass tacks of improving a workplace’s culture.
As of 2025, legal risk now extends to employee initiatives that touch DEI, even when a program’s name has been changed. For example, in his Jan. 20 executive order ending “radical and wasteful” DEI programs for federal employees, President Donald Trump mandated that such programs, “under whatever name they appear,” come to an end.
One recent private-sector example of this was when AT&T scrapped its DEI program earlier this month, with the telecommunications company vowing to end its inclusion programs “not just in name but in substance.”
Additionally, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, in partnership with the Department of Justice, issued two technical assistance documents on DEI in March. The EEOC outlined how DEI might be “unlawful” and included employee resource groups, a vital part of workplace culture, in its sights.
Regarding EY’s findings that employees care deeply about workplace culture, Leslie Patterson, Americas and U.S. Inclusiveness Leader for the firm, emphasized the importance of focusing on the humanity of one’s workforce — especially amid a tech boom.
While many organizations are focused on critical innovations like AI, employers “should also keep their people front and center,” and look for ways to address workers’ needs, Patterson said in a statement.
Success will require “building environments where people feel valued, have their needs met and are empowered to grow,” Ginnie Carlier, EY Americas vice chair of talent, said.
