Ragan research: Mission and integrity are the most vital employer attributes

It’s not news that employees want a sense of meaning and purpose in the work they do. But according to Ragan’s 2023 Salary and Workplace Culture survey, it’s once again at the top of the list of most important employer attributes, even ranking above a fun workplace.

While the majority of respondents (68%) were communicators, 15% hold marketing titles and 2% sit in HR, with 8% working in social media, branding, safety, creative, business development, retail, engineering and risk management. As such, these results paint a picture of employee sentiment that largely represents the comms function, but also goes beyond it.

Of the lot, 65% of respondents said organizational mission and integrity are the most vital employer attribute, up four percentage points from our previous year’s survey, but still way below the 2020 survey that registered the positive response from as many as 82% of participants. Of course, 2020 was a year marked by massive upheaval and protest around many areas of modern life — from personal and public health to civil rights and racial inequity. While the importance placed on purpose has declined, it’s still something every competitive employer must consider to attract the best talent.