Florida HR Leaders Adapt Talent Strategies to Match a Workforce Motivated By Lifestyle

Employees in Florida report some of the highest job satisfaction in the nation, but are also among the most likely to quit. What exactly is going on here? According to BambooHR’s new employee satisfaction report, this pattern reflects a workforce focused on quality of life, where a job is simply a means to an end. For HR leaders in Florida and similar markets, this may offer insight into how roles, benefits, and retention strategies can adapt to a more transient labor force.

Mariana Barba Gastiazoro, an HR Business Partner at MarineMax, has spent years navigating Florida’s unique labor market. With deep experience supporting large-scale transitions at global firms like Millicom (Tigo) and building foundational HR strategies at The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, she is an expert in building effective teams in high-mobility environments. Her take on these recent findings is that employee satisfaction can’t be understood solely through the lens of office culture.

“When you’re happy in life, you’re happy all around. Florida is picked more as a lifestyle than for career growth. You pick the destination first and the job second,” she says. For HR professionals, this highlights the importance of aligning talent strategies with employees’ broader life priorities, not just their career ambitions. Florida’s lifestyle-first mindset sheds new light on the state’s high turnover.

• Seasonal by nature: Gastiazoro calls this “mobility,” a steady churn that reflects the natural rhythm of a tourism and hospitality-driven state economy, where quits rates remain consistently high according to Federal Reserve Economic Data. She describes this as the system working as intended. “When I worked in hospitality, I remember it was high turnover,” Gastiazoro recalls. “People would come down to Florida and work for a year or two to get the lifestyle out of their system before moving on to something else.” In her view, improving HR strategies means understanding local behavioral nuance.

Gastiazoro touches on how affordability is also likely influencing turnover rates. As Florida’s cities see an influx of new residents and industries, the rising cost of living puts increasing pressure on the service workers who form the backbone of the lifestyle economy. Rent increases and the booming South Florida real estate market create a difficult dynamic.

• A tale of two Floridas: “As Miami’s tech hub grows, it puts tremendous pressure on the tourism industry,” she emphasizes. “The salary for a software developer is vastly different than for a server at a beach restaurant. It creates a huge affordability gap that affects the entire market.” So how do employers survive in a market defined by both high mobility and rising costs? According to Gastiazoro, it means understanding these flight patterns and pivoting accordingly.

• Listening is key: To ensure satisfaction, Gastiazoro presents a simple solution. “I think it really comes down to continuing to listen to employees. HR strategies have to be driven by the specific workforce you have and the requests they’re making, not general trends. Pay close attention to what’s already working and continue to strengthen those areas.”

• Benefits as competitive edge: The intense competition for talent in Florida forces companies to stay competitive on benefits tailored to a transient workforce, like flexible hours, quality insurance, generous PTO, and even options to transfer between locations. “Otherwise employees will go to the place across the street,” she says.

Statistics around Florida’s labor market at first are puzzling, but answers lie in understanding what employees value most: work-life balance. Gastiazoro explains, “We would really need to dig into why people are so happy with their jobs. If it’s lifestyle-driven, then overall happiness comes from life outside of work.” For HR, that means prioritizing benefits and policies that support employees’ lifestyle choices.