31 Scary & Interesting Facts about HR that will Shock You!
Halloween is coming up. In recognition of the 31 days of October, we have gathered a list of 31 Human Resources facts, both interesting and – at times — a bit scary.
- More than 47% of the American workforce is employed by small businesses.
- 99.9% of American-based businesses are classified as small businesses.
- More than 40% of full-time employees work remotely at least part of their work week.
- In the United States, a female executive earns 83% of what her male counterpart earns.
- 71% of Americans are opposed to the use of AI in making final hiring decisions.
- The United States is the only advanced economy in the world without government-mandated paid vacation time for employees.
- While more than half of employees who quit believe their company could have done more to keep them from quitting, only 1 out of 3 will discuss their choice to leave with a manager before quitting.
- 60% of job seekers will stop completing applications halfway through if they are too long or repetitive.
- 4.5% of households do not have a checking or savings account, requiring other means than direct deposit for paychecks.
- Only 32% of employees are actively engaged at work, with 18% remaining completely disengaged.
- 69% of HR professionals have reported skills gaps in their companies.
- 58% of companies are seeing difficulties filling positions due to the skills gap.
- The average job opening receives 250 applications.
- 57% of job seekers use social media during their search.
- 52 million people use LinkedIn to search for new jobs each week.
- 18% of employers have fired someone because of social media posts.
- 57% of employees quit due to feeling disrespected at work.
- 43% of employees will quit due to lack of benefits.
- 63% or employees will quit due to lack of advancement opportunities.
- 1890 saw the first patented time clock, made by the Bundy Manufacturing Company of New York.
- In 1911, Bundy Manufacturing merged with four other companies and the conglomerate became IBM.
- Uruguay was the first nation to formally adopt the 40-hour workweek, in 1915.
- Spain was the first nation to standardize the eight-hour workday, in 1919.
- The first “Equal Pay for Equal Work” statement was issued by France in their 1946 Constitution.
- It costs up to two times an employee’s annual salary to replace them.
- One-third of new employees will quit after 6 months on the job.
- Millennials and Gen Z make up 69% of the workforce. 70% of this group is considering quitting their jobs within the year.
- Businesses with higher racial, ethnic, and gender diversity are more likely to outperform companies with lower representations.
- Companies that have pro-active employee recognition programs see 31% lower voluntary turnover.
- Compliance and administrative tasks take 40% to 60% of your HR department’s time.
- 39.3% of American adults plan to dress up for Halloween.
If you need assistance or guidance to help with some of the scary side of human resources, compliance, or employment law please contact HR Service Inc. at (801) 685-8400 x1. We’d be happy to help!
Prepared by David Norton, SPHR, SHRM-SCP
Human Resources Business Consultant
Edited by Penny Clark, Content Specialist