Flexible working environment
In the last year and a half, millions of employees from multiple sectors around the world have joined a mass exodus from the workplace. Many have tried explaining the mass exodus, but reports indicate it may be due to inadequate salaries, limited career advancement, poor work-life balances, general unhappiness with management or the company and numerous other reasons.
This so-called Great Resignation, spurred by the COVID-19 pandemic, has turned employment into a worker’s market. TikTok users have coined phrases such as “quiet quitting” and “act your wage” as employees find community with others who don’t feel properly valued or appreciated by their workplaces.
As employees decide what’s right for them, employers are having to reconsider what actually makes their company worth working for. If you feel like your business may be at risk of losing top talent, or you have already begun losing your best workers to the Great Resignation, it is probably time to consider some employee retention strategies.
Over the coming weeks we will highlight 15 effective strategies to boost employee job satisfaction and help you hold on to your best workers.
Here is number 3.
Provide Flexible Scheduling and Reduced Workdays
Along with offering remote work, studies from the Society for Human Resource Management also show businesses offering more flexible work options maintain significantly better worker retention.
Even before the pandemic made work-from-home a norm, a 2019 study showed nearly two-thirds of workers found themselves more productive outside of a traditional office due to fewer interruptions, fewer distractions and less commuting. Creativity can’t always be turned on like a tap, so offering your employees flexible hours encourages them to find the times they will be most efficient and productive to focus attention on the work.
Along with providing flexible scheduling, reducing the hours in your workday or work week can actually increase employee productivity and encourage more employee retention. A 2014 study by Stanford University found productivity enters a steep decline after a worker exceeds 50 hours of work per week. While we often think workaholics who are the first to arrive and last to leave are more dedicated and productive, that is not necessarily the case if much of the productivity in those hours is lost to burnout or exhaustion.
With thoughtful planning around the length of the work week and work locations, you will reduce burnout and ultimately retain your top talent while becoming an employer of choice for employees looking for an opportunity to maximise their skills and drive their passion, which has to be good for your brand.
Tony Delaney, CEO Brownie Points
