Good jobs may benefit more than just workers

Building on the premise that offering higher-quality jobs can open new paths to value creation, PwC collaborated with FoW Partners, an investment adviser group focused on workforce impact, and Two Sigma Sustainability Science, to develop a worker-derived, scalable assessment tool that quantitatively measures job quality across industries, sectors and demographics. Introduced in 2023, the Good Job Score is a data-driven KPI that measures companies on four dimensions of work that, according to extensive research by PwC and FoW Partners, employees deem essential to a high-quality job: leadership (senior leadership has the skills, capabilities and genuine desire to engage the workforce), purpose (the company’s mission and values are clear to employees and connected to their work), growth (employees feel they have the feedback, support and opportunities to learn and grow in their careers) and fairness (employees feel they are safe in the workplace, fairly compensated and given sufficient flexibility to maintain work–life balance). 

A high Good Job Score (GJS) is certainly good news for a company’s workers, but is it good news for the organisation as a whole? The chart above suggests that it is. Companies scoring in the top quintile of the GJS significantly outperform those in the bottom quintile on five key financial indicators. Additional research using more-granular data from FoW Partners’ portfolio companies will explore the correlation further. 

In the meantime, that pronounced performance margin should provide impetus for CEOs to integrate employee well-being into a whole-of-business strategy. That starts with a rigorous focus on the Good Job Score’s four key dimensions of job quality:

• CEOs and their leadership teams need to take a hard look at whether they’re taking meaningful action on the workforce imperatives embedded in the GJS, including fairness and employee growth. A clear-eyed assessment of management practices can turn up gaps that may require executive coaching in communication and listening skills, for example, or in diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI). 

• Ensure that the company’s mission statement, values and purpose are communicated company-wide, both through forums like town halls and through the publishing of business objectives and clear reporting on progress toward those objectives.

• Develop an internal mobility program that includes career pathways, tuition assistance and other opportunities for growth. Ensure that the HR team is adequately resourced to support such initiatives, and that direct managers are supporting employee growth and development.

• Fairness starts with adequate compensation. Conduct a living-wage analysis, collect market data and review your company’s compensation model accordingly, and link pay to performance in a transparent and consistent way. Physical and emotional safety in the workplace is essential, too. Guarantee adequate paid time off and consider creating an employee emergency fund for workers facing financial crisis due to catastrophe or illness.