The world of flex can be a confusing arena to navigate, but one well worth the effort. Without flexible work, businesses cut their hiring potential and limit their talent pools to professionals willing to work the typical 9-to-5, Monday through Friday workweek. For companies looking to create a diverse workforce, and one with happy, engaged employees, flexible work is the way to go. Some industry experts, including FlexJobs, are discussing topics like compressed workweeks.
If you haven’t utilized compressed workweeks, flexible hours, or remote work in the past, now’s the time to examine the benefits and start making plans for implementation. Inc. shares some statistics from FlexJobs and Jobvite that show the importance of work-life balance, to the tune that staffers are willing to take a pay cut to obtain it. The same holds true in a piece written by Business.com. To attract a diverse talent pool, including women, flexible schedules are critical, as is the ability to work at home.
The HR Director dives in to give practical and useful tips to businesses looking to make the most of their flexible work programs. The piece points out that many employers see a correlation between flexible work and increased earnings, but many of those same businesses fail to communicate and promote their programs. That is a sad reality, but with the tips in the article, this can be turned around.
Fast Company also puts flexible work under the microscope. Not only do they discuss the fastest growing job categories for flexible work, but they show how employers benefit from it as well. Benefits for employers? You bet, and these include reduced real estate costs, lower operating costs, reduced turnover, and a happier workforce.
The last piece contributing to this edition of the employer news is iMeetCentral by PGi. For companies interested in growing a winning marketing team, mentoring could be the answer. And, with flexible work and remote technology, you can connect and build that team based on talent and fit, rather than location.
Read on for quotes and links to the full articles, including news on compressed workweeks:
Why We Should Have a 4-Day Workweek (Many Already Doing It) on Inc.
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“A 2016 Jobvite study found that 41 percent of talent see work-life balance as one of the most valuable things they look for in a job. Furthermore, a 2015 FlexJobs survey found that 30 percent of employees would take a 10-20 percent pay cut if it meant having a more flexible work schedule. Switching to four-day workweek will give you a competitive advantage in recruiting that talent.”
Benefits for All: How to Attract More Women to the Workplace on Business.com
“Offer Truly Flexible Schedules: According to Flex Jobs, the benefits of offering employees flexible schedules abound. With more and more companies beginning to offer employees work-at-home days, the mobile office could be the great leveler. Want to get more women in tech? Let them work from home, says PowerToFly co-founder and CEO, Milena Berry.”
Practical Tips for Making Flexible Working Work on The HR Director
“Three out of five (61 percent) said that flexible working had a direct effect on their profit and loss statement by increasing their company’s earnings. Yet although many companies now offer flexible working as a benefit, less than half are promoting it effectively, so many employees are missing out. Research from HR association, WorldatWork, and FlexJobs, an online careers site reported that while 80 percent of companies offer flexible work arrangements; 44 percent are failing to promote flexibility as an employee benefit to new employees. Another survey from flexibility experts Timewise highlighted that just 8.7 percent of job vacancies, with salaries upwards of £20,000, offer some degree of flexibility, which it says is excluding many from the workplace.”
The Fastest-Growing Job Categories For Flexible Work May Surprise You on Fast Company
“‘Companies with flexible workforces see reduced turnover, improved productivity, reduced real estate and operating costs, a lowered carbon footprint, and more satisfied workers,’ says Reynolds. However, she acknowledges that flexible work still has a negative association for many employers.
‘Even though flexible work is becoming more mainstream, with 80 percent of companies offering it in some form, there still is this notion that flexible work options like working from home or part-time hours are only for lower-level or unskilled jobs,’ she says. ‘What we see at FlexJobs is actually the opposite, that the majority of flexible job opportunities—the legitimate ones—are well-suited for experienced career professionals.’”
How to Build a First-Class Marketing Team Through Mentoring on iMeetCentral by PGi
“As a newly minted marketer, you aren’t going to know everything right off the bat. As such, working with a mentor can help you up your skills within a learning environment.
‘When starting out, I was wet behind the ears, and things were being gradually put on my plate. Since I didn’t have the educational marketing background, I learned by listening and absorbing as much as I could,’ explains Michael Gutman, Director of Marketing at FlexJobs.”
Looking for more news on flexible work? Check out our flex work news category.
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