It wasn’t that long ago when organizations were offering perks like gum memberships, Friday afternoon beers and on-site massages to keep the best talent. Or that a higher salary was the key to landing the best workers. Not so anymore. There’s something else that American workers want more…flexible work options.
Younger generations, Millennials and Gen Z figured this it out way before the older generations did. They are demanding flexible work hours and work from home options.
Older generations wouldn’t have thought to ask such a bold request…or is it because that was not really an option 15 years ago?
I’m a Gen Xer. I started my first job in 1995. The internet was a tiny baby. Many businesses didn’t have websites. I faxed documents. No one had cell phones. Working remotely was an anomaly.
The youngest generations don’t know any different – they’ve always been connected.
This New York Times article “Young People are Going to Save U All From Office Life” is spot on.
People have lives with family, pets and passions. Kids have spelling bees and after school soccer games. People have dentist appointments and have to renew their driver’s license. Sometimes the only time you can get a haircut is at 2 pm on a Tuesday.
An organization that offers flexibility will attract the best workers. And with tools like Slack, Microsoft Teams, video conferencing and convenient laptops, anything is possible.
Oh, what’s that? You don’t want your workers working remotely or using “flex time” because you don’t know if they are actually doing work? Wouldn’t that be obvious when they weren’t meeting their goals and getting their work done? If you can’t trust your employees, why did you hire them in the first place?
According to this ZDnet article, More than 1 in 4 U.S. knowledge workers have quit a job because the company didn’t offer flexible or remote work options. That’s 25% of your staff! If you have a great workforce, this is a no brainer…give them the opportunity work and live their life.
One Kansas Girl 