According to Epicor’s new ‘Future of Work in Manufacturing’ report, a significant gap exists between how manufacturing managers and frontline workers perceive workplace morale. In 2024, 57% of managers rated their morale as high compared to only 45% of workers, highlighting a potential disconnect in understanding and addressing employee engagement.
Bridging this morale gap to ensure alignment between managers and workers is especially critical given the projected 3.8 million manufacturing employee workforce shortage, and the need for leaders to address current challenges and prepare for future demands.
Separately, the report found there is a disconnect in upskilling efforts, with 91% of managers but only 70% of workers recognising it as a priority, highlighting the need for enhanced communication and implementation.
Epicor surveyed more than 1,400 manufacturing leaders and 1,200 manufacturing workers worldwide to uncover critical trends and strategies that will shape the industry’s future. These findings are meant to inform and guide C-suite leaders, operations managers, manufacturing supervisors, IT leaders and HR leaders in creating and implementing strategies to successfully scale their manufacturing operations.
Key Findings:
- Technological gap: While 52% of managers considered their workplace very modern in 2024, only 39% of workers agreed, suggesting a mismatch in perceptions of technological advancement.
- Sustainability priorities: Only about half of the companies prioritise sustainability, with 61% of managers and 45% of workers viewing it as crucial, pointing to the need for stronger, more visible sustainability initiatives.
- Supply chain challenges: Despite 75% of managers recognising the critical importance of supply chain resilience and sustainability, issues like cost, regulatory hurdles and technological shortcomings remain obstacles.
- Automation’s impact: A growing awareness of automation’s role shows 73% of managers and 53% of workers expect job changes due to automation, with decreasing immediate concerns among workers.
- Turnover trends: Worker-reported turnover dropped by 6% in 2024, while manager-reported turnover rose by 25%, reflecting varying experiences and viewpoints on workforce stability.
Morale discrepancies
A significant gap exists between how manufacturing managers and frontline workers perceive workplace morale. In 2024, 57% of managers rated their morale as high compared to only 45% of workers, highlighting a potential disconnect in understanding and addressing employee engagement.
Technological modernisation
Despite increasing investments in technology, only 39% of workers in 2024 viewed their workplace as ‘very modern,’ compared to 52% of managers. This suggests a disconnect in the perceived pace of modernisation efforts between leadership and the workforce.
Upskilling challenges
While 91% of managers in 2024 indicated that their companies are prioritising upskilling, only 70% of workers agreed, marking a 10% decrease from the previous year. This highlights the need for better communication and implementation of upskilling initiatives at all levels.
Sustainability focus
Sustainability remains a priority for only about half of manufacturing companies. In 2024, 61% of managers and 45% of workers reported that sustainability is a high priority, indicating a need for more visible and impactful sustainability efforts across the industry.
Supply chain resilience
The report states that 75% of manufacturing managers in 2024 identified supply chain resilience and sustainability as critical to their operations. However, challenges such as costs, regulatory hurdles and technology gaps are hindering the full realisation of these goals.
Automation and workforce impact
There is growing awareness of the impact of automation, with 73% of managers and 53% of workers in 2024 believing their jobs will change due to automation. However, workers are increasingly less concerned about immediate changes, reflecting a potential shift in perception about the role of automation.
Turnover trends
While worker-reported turnover decreased by 6% in 2024, manager-reported turnover increased by 25%, indicating differing experiences and perspectives on workforce stability within the manufacturing sector.
Strategic insights for leadership
The ‘Future of Work in Manufacturing’ report offers strategic recommendations for manufacturing leaders, emphasising the importance of:
- Enhancing employee engagement and morale through better communication and recognition programmes
- Accelerating technological modernisation to remain competitive in a rapidly changing industry
- Implementing robust upskilling programmes to prepare workers for the future of manufacturing
- Prioritising sustainability to meet growing ESG requirements
“Manufacturers are navigating an era of significant change and challenge,” said Kerrie Jordan, Group Vice President of Product Management at Epicor. “Our latest report provides actionable insights that can help organisations align their people, processes and technology to fine-tune their operations. By gathering and analysing perspectives from both workers and leaders across the globe, we’ve gained robust insights that guide us in crafting strategies to enhance operational efficiency and embrace future opportunities.”
Jordan continued: “This boost in new projects and new jobs expansion has been pushed forward by a number of recent legislation, including the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), and the 2022 CHIPS and Science Act (CHIPS). However, this growth comes amid incredible changes and challenges, including a looming workforce shortage with as many as 3.8 million additional employees needed in the sector between 2024 and 2033. This shortage, along with other industry pressures, means that manufacturing leaders can’t simply ride the wave to increased success, scalability and profit. They need to create and execute strategies for hitting production targets and serving customers that include implementing new technologies like artificial intelligence (AI) and automation, using data to drive decision-making, and ensuring that workers feel engaged with what they do every day. To learn more about manufacturing successes and challenges faced across an organization today, we looked to our 2023 and 2024 “Voice of the Essential Worker” report, as well as our 2023 and 2024 “Voice of the Manufacturing Manager” report. By evaluating responses from both frontline workers and leadership, we’re able to get a clearer picture of the state of manufacturing today — and the areas where workers and leadership are not quite seeing eye to eye. These findings are meant to inform and guide C-suite leaders, operations managers, manufacturing supervisors, IT leaders, and HR leaders in creating and implementing strategies to successfully scale their manufacturing operations.”
For a detailed look into the findings and recommendations, download the full report here.