Reading a post in the paper today got us thinking on how people (new employees) in a job might really look at their jobs and work life balance.
The times article mentions that Indian managerial-level employees seem to be rejecting job offers from companies that operate for more than 5 days a week. The findings seem to reveal that people are putting in more hours during the week (and that they don’t really mind it) as long as bosses don’t give them work on weekends and that since stress levels are higher than what they used to be, employees need weekends to re-energize themselves. The article also reminds us of studies that show that how more and more people are bending towards work life balance (4th among the top 10 factors people consider while choosing a job) and that working smart is the new workplace credo.
Here’s the tricky or rather ironic perspective. Studies also show that a higher compensation can tilt the odds when it comes to employees sacrificing their weekends for the organization.When asked, 90% of freshers were OK working six days a week if the compensation was better than what was normally offered, while only 10% chose jobs that gave them the weekend off. In short, pay me better and I don’t really care about my weekends.
Does this mean that an incremental increase in pay (for four extra Saturdays) is the solution to all your people issues? Have we finally found the key to life-long retention and loyalty? Does this mean that companies, HR consultants and bosses reading this can now rejoice?
The answer is a resounding No! Unfortunately (for companies) while employees are OK with working longer if paid well, what one also needs to remember, perhaps more than anything, is that people don’t leave companies. They leave the people working there. What employees may not have considered is that companies are in a race to compete and that business pressures may require you to work from home on weekends no matter what your salary. Else, there is the pink slip. Try conducting an employee engagement survey to corroborate that.
So what can a company really do? It’s simple really. Hire the top HR Consultant in Mumbai. Invest in building the right culture at your workplace, and start building that ‘Top Down’ rather than the other way. Get on board some Employee engagement companies in India to work on an Employment engagement strategy. Build a place where managers are trained to respect their colleagues and direct reportees as people first and then a cost center. Build a culture where autonomy and responsibility go hand-in-hand and employees are given an environment and culture that breeds the entrepreneurial spirit where you are kind if they make mistakes. No matter what the discipline of work, make work fun and interesting and emphasize on work life balance. Create an organization where results are more important than what time you came in to work and what time you left.
Try this we say. It will also probably save you that extra 4 days of overtime for the long hours put in as well.
