WHAT THE DATA SAY: 76% stick with a company because of workplace friends

By: Ray Day

CONTACT:

Ray Day
ray.day@stagwellglobal.com 

We wanted to share our latest consumer and business insights, based on research from Stagwell. Among the highlights of our weekly consumer sentiment tracking:

WORK FRIENDS = BETTER EMPLOYEES

Employees are happier, more productive and more likely to stay at a job when they have friends at work, based on our Harris Poll research with Express Employment Professionals.

• 97% of U.S. hiring managers agree there are benefits to employees forming friendships in the workplace.
• Improving employee and company productivity is the most common benefit (67%), followed by increasing morale (55%), strengthening company culture (51%), improving mental health (50%), reducing turnover (44%) and reducing burnout (40%).
• 76% of job seekers would stick with a company if they had friends at their workplace.
• 65% of employees have stayed at a job longer than they intended because of their friendships at a job.
• 59% say they couldn’t get through a workday without the friendships they’ve formed at work.
• 87% of companies use methods to encourage and help employees form friendships.

WE LOVE E-CHECKING OUT

Consumers globally rank shopping as the online activity that gives them the most joy, according to our Harris Poll research with Rokt.

• Global consumers say shopping gives them the most joy online (53%), followed by streaming content (47%) and social media (42%).
• 70% say they look forward to online shopping.
• 72% of Gen Z and Millennials say online shopping is a more enjoyable experience than shopping in physical stores.
• 51% of younger consumers say they dread going to a store to shop.

WHO SHOULD LEAD CONTENT MODERATION?

With the rise of AI-generated misinformation, Americans believe content moderation is the responsibility of social media platforms, not the government, according to our research by Stagwell’s NRG.  

• 38% of social media users say the platforms should prioritize protecting freedom of speech.
• Americans are split on what’s happening today: 36% say social media platforms are doing enough in their approach to content moderation, 32% say they are too lenient, and 31% say they are too strict.
• 39% say the government should be less involved in influencing how social media platforms moderate their content – versus 25% who say the government should be more involved.
• 44% think social media platforms should use fact-checking for content moderation.
• Only 12% of users say platforms should not use any forms of content moderation.

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