NEW YORK—It’s obvious that 2020 has been a year like no other, with a divisive election, civil unrest across the nation and a global coronavirus pandemic. With all of this unease, and with much of the workplace shifting to a work-from-home model, staffing agency CHG Healthcare surveyed more than 800 U.S. workers to see find out more about how all of this has impacted employees’ experiences and, perhaps, uncover trends that we can expect in the future.

What the survey found is that culture remains a very important aspect of a job, with 84 percent of women and 75 percent of men (79 percent overall) stating they have left a job due to a bad company culture. When it comes to defining company culture, employees identify the work environment (41 percent) and how people are treated (27 percent) as the top things that come to mind. Surprisingly, company “perks”’ came in last (.5 percent).

When asked about what actually contributes to a good company culture, workers identified the top five things as work environment, growth and development, access to leadership, transparent communication, and the meaningfulness of the job. While it may seem like an easy fix to invest money in onsite gyms, ping-pong tables, or free food, what workers really want is a place where they feel comfortable with their work environment and are treated with respect.

Who’s really in charge of culture?

While the human resource department may come to mind when talking about a successful culture, we found that a third (33 percent) of employees felt that managers are most responsible for cultivating a successful culture, with just over a quarter (27 percent) indicating that executives play the next biggest role.

Only 3 percent of employees felt that HR contributed to a culture’s success. This goes to show that investing in managers who are aligned with the company’s vision and who are committed to creating a healthy workforce will enhance a company’s culture even further. This research also supports the need for executives to engage with their employees to foster a good culture.

Not surprisingly, perhaps, the survey also found that not all benefits are created equal.

The CHG survey findings show the top five things prospective employees are looking for in a new job are: work from home flexibility (14 percent), paid time off (14 percent), health insurance (14 percent), 401(k) employer match (13 percent), and bonuses (11 percent).

Once employees are in a job, salary (17 percent), flexible work schedule (16 percent), and culture (15 percent) emerge as top contributors to employee satisfaction.