2022 Creative, Marketing and Digital Talent Report Highlights Resilience and the Compelling Importance of Work-Life Balance

New Research from Cella Demonstrates What Matters Most to Talent Today—Besides Compensation

July 08, 2022

ROCKVILLE, Md. – July 08, 2022 – The second annual Creative, Marketing and Digital Talent Report from Cella, a leading staffing, consulting and managed solutions firm, found that 70% of the people responding are very or somewhat content with their work situations. Professionals answering the survey equally represented the contract/freelance and full-time workforces. A resounding 98% work remotely at least some of the time (up from 90% last year), a trend that has resulted in the added work-life balance that respondents expressed enjoying. Yet four out of 10 respondents said they plan to leave their roles within the next year—with most resigning in the next 2-4 months. These statistics underscore talent’s resilience and adaptability, and their confidence in landing a job that fulfills their needs. 

“Cella’s latest survey report of creative, marketing and digital teams shows that talent are firmly in control of their careers in 2022,” said Rob Ganjon, President, Cella. “They know their skills are in high demand and they don’t have to settle for positions or workplace flexibility that doesn’t meet their wants and needs. Compensation, a no-show in 2021’s top three reasons to resign, rose to the number one cause for discontent. Unfortunately, a significant number of remote workers reported feeling isolated. That’s why organizations must be flexible and show they can go beyond just checking the box on benefits, compensation and culture to retain and recruit top talent. Smart companies will continue investing in technology and employee experience to improve employees’ well-being and team dynamics.” 

Cella surveyed more than 350 professionals, including managers and individual contributors, to understand what motivates them. Millennials and Generation X accounted for 84% of the respondents, and 58% of those surveyed had more than nine years of specialized experience. The respondents represent many diverse industries with marketing and advertising agencies showing the largest share (25%). Additional findings from the Cella report include:

  • Talent Doesn’t Need to Compromise: Unlike last year’s survey in which 51% of employed respondents were so unhappy with their company that they’d take the first opportunity to make a lateral move, 59% of 2022 respondents said the top reason they have turned down job offers is because they were unhappy with the compensation and benefits. In addition, 60% said they would not be willing to accept a lower salary for the ability to work remotely full time, and more than half (55%) said they would turn down a permanent position for a contract role offering greater compensation. Also notable: 20% would consider a contract in order to work remotely.  

  • Remote Work Soars, But Has Its Pros and Cons: While 13% more respondents are working completely remote this year, 26% of remote workers report feeling isolated, and noted a need for employers to elevate the nurturing of their workforce. The respondents also expressed wanting more one-on-one conversations with leadership. 

  • Top Priorities for Talent: Salary, work-life balance and the flexibility to work remotely are job seekers' top three priorities, and 86% cited additional bonus and compensation as the type of incentive they would like to receive. Consistent with 2021, over 60% of job seekers rated a positive policy on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) as important or very important. 

Hear more in a webinar recording presented by Cella recruiting experts Rae Jones, Director of Recruitment & Delivery, and Monica Burdych, Manager of Recruitment & Delivery as they review and discuss the results of the annual talent report.

About Cella

Cella is an award-winning leader in consulting, staffing and managed solutions for creative, marketing, digital and proposal development teams. We help people build meaningful careers and partner with companies to help them win. Our secret sauce? The Cella Trifecta: we have the right people, we understand our clients and we deliver results. Success requires a partner who offers all three. Together, we put passion to work. Cella is a 2022 Best of Staffing® 10-Year Diamond Award Winner for both Clients and Talent—an honor earned by only 1% of staffing firms. For more information, please visit cellainc.com or contact [email protected].