Companies that fail to recruit and retain top talent are not long for this world. However, as time goes by and the landscape of the workplace changes, employees’ needs and desires shift. What might have compelled a new employee to sign a contract ten years ago might not cut it these days. The young people entering the workforce now, i.e. the future of your business and of the world in general, have different priorities than the generations preceding them. If you don’t take these priorities seriously and do everything you can to honor them, it won’t be long before your competitors pull ahead.
Here’s the good news, though: we know what young employees want. And what is that? Flexibility. In a survey conducted by staffing firm Modis, over 50 percent of workers chose flexible working hours as their most desired job perk, over such alluring benefits as free food, unlimited vacation time, on-site child care and paid parental leave. In a survey of millennial workers conducted by Deloitte, 49% of respondents said they planned to leave their current jobs in the next two years. Of those, 22% said their main reason for leaving was a lack of flexibility.
But what’s in it for you, right? Well, plenty. In a survey of small business employees conducted by Zenefits last year, 73% of employees reported that flexible work increased their job satisfaction, while 78% of workers said flexible work arrangements make them more productive. So even if you have ice in your veins and care not a whit about your employees’ contentment or lack thereof, the boost in productivity should be enough of an incentive for you to get the show on the road and start experimenting with flexible working hours.
Also, offering flexible remote work options will save you a decent chunk of change. It has been estimated that companies can save $10,000 per remote employee per year in real estate costs, simply by letting people work from home. Additionally, a growing company can add remote workers without having to think about the cost of a newer, larger office space.
In short, this is one of those rare win-win opportunities.
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