Page 62 - BusinessWest October 27, 2021
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they want to retain or attract new talent to their workforces.
As part of my position at Meyers Brothers Kalicka, I assist clients with finding new talent, such as controllers, accountants, HR, marketing, and other administrative professionals, for their organizations. Prior to the pandemic, I would see 50 to 100 applications from people in Western Mass. applying for every posted job opportunity. That number has drastically declined, the geo- graphical representation has widened, and the questions and concerns from potential employees have also significantly changed.
So, what are employees expressing that they want? Here’s a hint: it’s not just about salary. People had a lot of time to reflect during the pan- demic about what work means to them and what role they want their careers to play in their overall lives.
Work-life Balance
Prior to the pandemic, Americans were obsessed with ‘hustle culture.’ People were happy to rise and grind and wear their burnout like a badge of honor. Perhaps people were too dis- tracted working around the clock to ever consider what they truly wanted. You’ve probably noticed the shift in sentiment in social media from #hus- tle to the idea that inner peace is the new success.
Working through the pandemic came with its own unique set of stresses. Some workers had to compensate for poorly staffed jobs, while oth- ers lost a feeling of security at their jobs, causing them to work even harder to show their value. Indeed recently posted a study that surveyed 1,500 employees about burnout, and a shocking 80% of people said the pandemic made the burn-
out worse.
As a result, potential employees have been
asking:
• What is your company’s view on work/life
balance?
• Does management regularly e-mail or call
after hours or on weekends? • Is the schedule flex- ible if I have a family event
or event for my child?
• Do people actually take their paid time off?
According to PR News- wire, “poor work-life bal- ance tops the list of job- seeker deal breakers, rank- ing above other immedi- ate turnoffs, including lower salary (50%) and
a company’s decreasing profits and lack of stability (48%)”.
Flexibility and Remote Work
Employees are actively seeking remote or hybrid work opportunities just as many compa- nies are now demanding that employees return to in-person work. Some have even pre-emptively started seeking flexible work opportunities out
of fear that their current remote-work situation might change.
Many are expressing that the ability to work from home and have more flexible work sched- ules in general have helped to prevent burnout. People have enjoyed ditching the morning com- mute and 5 p.m. rush hour. The returned pockets of time have come with myriad benefits, includ-
ing more sleep, more time with family before and after work, less wear and tear on vehicles, more time with pets, and an overall more comfortable environment.
It isn’t all hypothetical, either. Stanford con- ducted a study of 16,000 remote workers over a period of nine months and showed that produc-
“Employees are demanding more from their current and potential employers. Companies should be very careful to pay attention to the change in dynamics if they want to retain or attract new talent to their workforces.
tivity increased by 13%. Further, with more work- ers reporting they were happier working from home, attrition rates were cut by 50%.
Time is the only non-renewable commodity, so when employers are demanding that their people return to in-person work, employees are asking themselves, “at what cost?” The most-asked ques- tion I have received from potential employees over the last year is: “can this position be done fully or partially remote?” If the answer was no, most candidates politely declined to continue in the application process, presumably in favor of remote opportunities.
I would also attribute the increase of appli- cants from other regions to the normalization of
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    62 OCTOBER 27, 2021
EMPLOYMENT
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