Breaking Job News: ZipRecruiter New Hire Survey Results Are Shocking & Leaders Mishandling Layoffs

After years of constant churn, job-hopping is slowing down as more workers choose stability over risk. But it’s not just about staying put; employees are demanding more from their companies. Today, benefits matter just as much as pay, with healthcare, flexibility, and work-life balance ranking as top priorities in the fight for talent.

At the same time, corporate missteps are costing companies dearly. Mishandled layoffs are creating a trust crisis, leaving lasting damage to employer reputations and employee morale. And while AI is transforming industries, one thing is clear: human service can’t be fully replaced. From empathy in healthcare to problem-solving in customer support, people still bring the value machines can’t.

In this episode, we explore:
1. How newly-hired employees feel about their jobs.
2. How benefits now rival pay in employee decision-making.
3. Why layoff mismanagement destroys trust inside and outside the company.
4. The limits of AI and why human service will always matter.

News Articles:
1. The ZipRecruiter Survey of New Hires: https://www.ziprecruiter-research.org/new-hires-survey
2. Selerix Publishes Inaugural Employee Benefits Survey, Showcasing the Critical Importance of Benefits Satisfaction: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/selerix-publishes-inaugural-employee-benefits-survey-showcasing-the-critical-importance-of-benefits-satisfaction-302557597.html
3. The No. 1 Skill Leaders Lack During Layoffs, New Survey Reveals: https://www.forbes.com/sites/carolinecastrillon/2025/09/16/the-no-1-skill-leaders-lack-during-layoffs-new-survey-reveals/
4. Gartner Predicts None of the Fortune 500 Companies Will Have Fully Eliminated Human Customer Service by 2028: https://www.gartner.com/en/newsroom/press-releases/2025-09-10-gartner-predicts-none-of-the-fortune-500-companies-will-have-fully-eliminated-human-customer-service-by-2028

Don’t miss out! Subscribe for weekly updates on the latest job news. 

🧠 WANT TO LEARN MORE? Be sure to subscribe and check out 4 Corner Resources at https://www.4cornerresources.com/

👋 FOLLOW PETE NEWSOME ONLINE:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/petenewsome/
Blog Articles: https://www.4cornerresources.com/blog/

Episode Transcript

Pete Newsome (00:03):
Today's job market headlines include the
likelihood of AI taking overcustomer service across the
Fortune 500, the number oneskill leaders lack during
layoffs, and why benefits mightmatter as much as salaries.
But first a new survey fromZipRecruiter came out with some
interesting results.
This is their Q3 survey of newhires.
91% said they are glad theytook their current job.

(00:26):
That's great, but nearly halfof those said they will continue
to look for a new opportunity.
So 46% who took this surveysaid, despite being in a brand
new role, they're still lookingfor their next job, and to me
that's indicative of the stateof things in the job market
right now, that people areaccepting jobs they otherwise
wouldn't because they feel theyneed to due to a lack of

(00:47):
opportunities.
Hopefully that number changesand we see people in the near
future taking jobs that theyactually want to be in and
hopefully will stay in for thelong term.
This survey also found thatbetter pay is the number one
reason for switching a job.
No surprise there.
Second is better management andthird is they're looking for
less stress.
Now there were a few positivetrends from this survey.

(01:07):
The median number ofapplications submitted in Q3
went down to 24 from 30 in Q2.
So that's training in a reallygood direction, where people are
applying less and gettingbetter results.
Also, 49% of the new hiresfound their job within a month,
versus only 40% in Q2.
And then, lastly, from thesurvey, it showed that higher
pay equates to better benefits,where the new hires who moved

(01:29):
into higher paying jobs were farmore likely to report better
benefits as well, at a two toone ratio.
So that is really significantstat.
So congrats to everyone whorecently secured a new job.
And speaking of benefits,cellerex just published their
inaugural employee benefitssurvey.
73% of the respondents saidbenefits matter as much, if not

(01:51):
more, than salary, and 38% haveturned down a job offer because
the benefits package was weak.
Benefits is a huge factor inretention.
It was also very clear in thesurvey where employees who are
satisfied with their plans arefive times more likely to stick
with their employer.
And what seems to be clear aswell is that when benefits feel

(02:12):
personal meaning, they'recustomized for the individual or
at least they're explainedclearly, satisfaction and
confidence skyrocket roughlythree times higher when those
things are in place.
Confidence skyrocket roughlythree times higher when those
things are in place.
Tim Pratt, the CEO of Cellerex,said when employees don't
understand their benefits, theyfeel less supported.
This research shows that whenbenefits feel personal and clear

(02:34):
, everything changes.
People stick around, trustgrows and organizations are
stronger.
The bottom line is having a goodand maybe even a great benefits
package isn't enough.
It has to be explained properlyto employees.
They need to understand it,they need to feel comfortable
with it.
That seems to make all thedifference in satisfaction and
retention.
I've been on both sides of thatequation.

(02:55):
I've been an employee who'sreceived a very complex benefits
offering and I didn't know howto make heads or tails of it.
And then I've been on the sideas an employer for the past 20
years where it is super complexto pick the plans to decide
which ones are better thanothers.
But it makes complete sense tome.
Seeing this survey is that,despite all that, internal

(03:16):
communication makes a hugedifference.
If you're able to answerquestions that are asked there's
always lots of questions andhave the right resources
available to do that and to takethe time to make sure every
employee knows what they'resigning up for really is
important.
So hopefully employers who seethis survey take that to heart
and do what they can to improve.
And our next headline a newsurvey of 2,200 employees and HR

(03:40):
leaders shows the singlebiggest leadership shortfall
during layoffs is empathy.
This is according to a Forbesarticle published earlier today.
It shows that while 77% of HRleaders think they're handling
reductions fairly, 60% ofemployees say leaders lack
empathy and 54% don't trust themto handle cuts ethically.
That is a big divide.

(04:01):
The article describes whereleaders go wrong.
It comes down to impersonalnotifications, lack of
transparency about why it'shappening, a lack of training
for managers and neglectingthose who stay behind, who end
up with heavier workloads andlower morale.
And the fallout is huge 62% ofemployees lose trust in their
employer after layoffs and 71%of survivors immediately start

(04:25):
job hunting.
The takeaway here is thatlayoffs are defining moments for
companies and their leaders.
Empathy requires transparency,dignity and support, which
everyone and every organizationhas the opportunity to provide.
But not enough, do I mean?
That is very clear.
So the message to employers isrealize why it's important and
then commit to doing the rightthing, even during and perhaps

(04:48):
especially during difficulttimes.
It'll serve you much better.
And in the final headline today,gartner has recently made two
big claims regarding AIreplacing jobs.
First, they predict that noneof the Fortune 500 will have
fully eliminated human customerservice by 2028.
And to me, the devil is in thedetails with this, with the

(05:08):
keyword being fully.
No, they won't fully eliminateit.
But we just saw what happenedwith Salesforce right, they laid
off 4,000 customer serviceemployees.
So while it's not full, itcertainly is trending in that
direction and I definitelyexpect that will continue.
But they also predicted by 2027, 50% of organizations that

(05:28):
expect to significantly reducetheir service workforce due to
AI will drop these plans.
I think that's a crazy statement.
I don't buy it at all and Icould not disagree more.
Now I really hope I'm wrongabout this, but the rapidity and
significance of what's comingis undeniable.
I just mentioned Salesforce andCEOs of Anthropic.

(05:50):
Ford, amazon, fiverr have allpredicted significant job
displacement, so we know that.
It's been reported a lot latelythat companies are losing money
on their AI investments.
Yeah, for now, but thistechnology is in its infancy and
it's evolving and improving onwhat feels like a daily basis.
So while none of us wantmassive job displacement, we

(06:13):
need to assume the worst andprepare for it.
It is coming and I'm surprisedto see that they suggested
otherwise.
We'll see who's right, and thefun fact for today is that many
historians believe that ancienthunter-gatherer societies had
more leisure time than people inmodern industrialized societies
.
I have trouble believing that.
You had to go gather your food.

(06:34):
You had to hunt for your foodand no technology existed
relative to what gather yourfood.
You had to hunt for your foodand no technology existed
relative to what we have today.
And they had more time.
Maybe they didn't have all thedistractions we have.
Maybe the time that they spentwas truly more quality.
I don't know.
I'd like to believe it's true.
I struggle to believe it.
I picture those ancient folksworking 24-7 just to survive.

(06:57):
But hey look, maybe thehistorians know better.
So we'll take it as fact, eventhough I do question it.
Thank you for listening today.
If you have any feedback,please share.
Also, if you could like andsubscribe, I would love that too
.
Greatly appreciate it and Iwill talk to you soon.
Have a good rest of the day.