“High salary” is no longer the decisive factor.5 points of “working conditions and treatment” that excellent human resources actually value

1. I want to be free to decide where and when to work

According to the “Questionnaire Survey on Work Styles and Work Attitudes” jointly conducted in June 2021 by researchers and professors at the University of Chicago, Stanford University, and the Autonomous Institute of Technology of Mexico (ITAM),About 35% of workers said they would look for other jobs that allowed them to work from home if their company asked them to return to full-time office work.. About 6% of them said they would quit their current job if that happened, even if they didn’t secure another one.

Kimberly Merriman, a business professor at the University of Massachusetts Lowell, told Insider, “Not everyone wants to work from home. is required (expected).”

Rhiannon Staples, chief marketing officer at Hibob, a human resources management platform, agrees that work freedom is an integral part of what companies offer to their employees. do.

“Employees have become frustrated with companies that do not hire them on the terms they want.Saying ‘Go back to the office and do your work’ can be seen as disingenuous.”

Of course, work freedom is not limited to physical locations.

Covid-19 has made many companies realize that not only can their employees stay productive outside of the office, but they don’t have to be tied down to rigid schedules.

Software management company Atlassian, for example, requires employees to be online only four hours a day. Other than that, it’s up to each employee to decide which hours they work, as long as they’re doing their job well.

Paul McDonald, senior executive director of international recruitment firm Robert Half, calls this type of work “window work.” )”.

“Many workers are shifting to flexible working styles and window work.If you increase the degree of freedom in work, the retention rate of human resources will also increase. It’s hard to find replacements for highly skilled people, so companies are putting more effort into retaining highly skilled people.”

However, not all work can be done from home, and not all work can be done at the employee’s convenience.

According to Lily Valentin, head of North American operations for job search site Adzuna, traditional benefits like job freedom aren’t always available in healthcare. Instead, employers are striving to alter shifts and working hours to accommodate work-life balance and the burden of raising children.

2. I want you to take care of your mental and physical health

Before the pandemic, many companies looked at health and benefits in physical terms, and so did employee expectations. However, due to the corona crisis,The importance of treating health as a comprehensive issue that includes not only physical health but also mental and emotional health has been highlighted..

A survey conducted by the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans found that 49% of companies surveyed said mental health complaints were “slightly increasing,” while 14.5% said they were “significantly increasing.” It is increasing,” he replied.

According to Julie Stich, the foundation’s vice president of content, 16% of the companies surveyed said they were “expanding mental health benefits in the wake of COVID-19.”

According to Stitch, things that have changed since the pandemic include the deployment of mental health workers, more services available through the Employee Assistance Program (EAP), mindfulness, resilience, and counseling. This includes increased support for employees and more time off to improve mental health.

Staples also reveals that some companies have created special holidays called “reset days” in addition to the legal holidays.

“What job seekers and employees want from companies is changing. They want to know not only what the company expects of them, but also what kind of support they will receive as an employee in order to be successful in their new or current job.” * Alison Stevens, director of HR services at Paychex, HR-related services, points out.

Employees are seriously considering changing jobs if their company doesn’t give them the support they need.

“Work-life balance is more important than ever. Before COVID-19, many employers thought they should give their employees a title. The quality of life (QOL) provided by the job has become more important than the conventional treatment,” Staples points out.

3. I would like to receive a telecommuting allowance

Before the pandemic, big tech companies were well known for their extravagant benefits like free cafeterias, on-site laundry services, and on-site fitness gyms.

However, in the current situation where employees expect (demand) flexibility in their work, suchTraditional benefits do not help attract job seekers or retain employees.

Therefore, an increasing number of companies are providing telecommuting allowances and commuting allowances instead.

“Right now, job seekers are at least saying, ‘I want to be compensated for the costs of working from home that I didn’t have before the pandemic,'” McDonald said. You have to have high-speed internet, a monitor, or at least a laptop to get the job done, which adds to the cost.

4. I want more child-rearing support

Parenting support has long been a focus for many employees, and Stevens says that trend will continue.The outbreak of the corona crisis has increased the burden on many working parents, especially mothers..

According to a 2021 report by the Center for Global Development, through October 2020, the average woman spent 173 unpaid hours on childcare. For men, it was 59 hours.

According to Stitch, some companies have set up on-site childcare to improve work-life balance for their employees. mention.

According to a Human Resources Executive article, Podium’s daycare is available to eligible employees and accommodates up to 50 children between the ages of 6 weeks and 5 years old.

5. Support learning and skill development

In the wake of the COVID-19 crisis, many business people have reconsidered what they want from their jobs, and have come to place an emphasis on individual skill development and growth.Tuition fees, enrollment subsidies, and allowances for learning and self-development are valuable to high-performing employees..

“Employees want to feel like they’re growing in their area of ​​expertise,” Valentin said.

As a result, companies are starting to post job listings that tout mentoring, learning, and skill development. Valentin says. “The premise behind this idea is that employees are not just employed. Employees are something a company should invest in.”

A personalized approach

Workers are expecting more than run-of-the-mill benefits during the pandemic, according to Insider’s experts.

“In today’s seller’s market, companies are scrambling to come up with unique strategies to attract talent, but ultimately they are forced to design and modify benefits packages to fit their current workforce. It will be,” says Stitch.

Jean-Philippe Provost, global consulting practice leader at Fidelity Investments, told Insider:Employee benefits haven’t changed much in the last 20-30 yearsIt says.

“Corona has caused both employers and employees to rethink their company’s benefits. I think the more drastic changes companies make, the better.”

Companies that fail to listen to their employees and provide them with the benefits and benefits they need will lose new talent and more.Stevens said, warning that it could “endanger the viability of the business.”

Merriman points out: “[Disgruntled employees]can undermine performance and culture until they eventually leave or are fired. It’s those kinds of employees that we should be most concerned about as a company.”

Provost hopes that companies will change and introduce policies that meet the expectations and demands of their employees in response to such threats.

“This transition is pretty big, so it will take some time. In this way, I think that momentum will increase in the entire working environment.”

*This article first appeared on September 15, 2021.