With so many job opportunities available, all providing different packages, employees now have great expectations for the environment in which they will work. Employees have individual needs which must be met within the workplace, meaning that organisations should prioritise flexibility and work on an individual basis to maintain a positive and motivated workforce. When employees are happy, they will work harder and be more productive, ultimately benefiting their employer. Although adapting their business environment and operations is expensive, this massively outweighs the opportunity cost of time, effort and resources which are required to recruit new staff members. Thus, suggesting that investing in current staff members’ wants and needs is much more valuable than investing capital into the process of hiring new employees. Furthermore, the cost of losing staff members is more than just financial; efficiency and productivity is massively reduced due to having to train new employees to do the same job as previously done. This is likely to lead to other team members being overloaded with work, resulting in higher stress levels and creating a toxic working environment.
Employees look for flexibility with hours and holidays. This is greatly attractive to workers because it allows them to create a positive work-life balance, reduces the chances of burnout and ensures that they are maximising their productivity. It also reduces unnecessary stress which could come from rushing to take children to work.
How feasible is a 4 day work week? A study by Stanford University showed a decrease in stress levels by 45 – 38% when operating in a 4 day working week. As previously mentioned, stress does employers no favours for a productive workforce and so by incorporating this, productivity is maximised. This shorter work week also cuts the cost of electricity within the offices for an entire day, cutting the costs of the organisation. Not only does this benefit the employees, it also benefits the planet; decreasing carbon footprint of a company. With an entire workforce not commuting to work, this results in millions fewer people travelling around the planet. This is likely to boost local economies, having a 3 day weekend enables more tourism and an increase in the spending amongst smaller businesses.
A massive red flag within recruitment which is likely to result in a fall in employee retention is a lack of transparency from the employer. Employees need to know how a company they work for is doing and how what they are working on is contributing to the larger picture. A lack of transparency creates distrust and can make team members feel as if they don't matter.
Pay can be a sensitive topic. It is not something that should be discussed with a line manager in the middle of a crowded office. Likewise, pay is extremely important. Don't just bring up salary as an afterthought at the end of an hour-long 121; ensure your request for a raise gets the attention it deserves by arranging a separate meeting. Ultimately, personal preferences and relationship with your manager will dictate how best to organise a pay review meeting. Employees might prefer to give them the subject in advance. This can be particularly helpful if you want to seek their advice on how to prepare for the meeting. Or maybe you would rather send a generic, agenda-free request and do all your talking on the day. It is also important to consider the timing of your request. Has your company just lost a big client? Does your manager have an unusually high volume of important meetings at the moment? If so, they may not be in the best frame of mind to discuss salary.
