Insights
Does Your Company Offer What Employees Want? Gallup Poll Identifies Workers’ Top Priorities
Posted May 31st, 2023 in Articles
For employers in all industries, employee retention should be a top priority. Employers also need to position themselves to attract top talent—and, in today’s world, this involves much more than offering a competitive salary.
Recently, Gallup conducted a poll focused on understanding employees’ top priorities with regard to employment-related benefits and opportunities. Gallup also surveyed employers to find out what benefits they currently offer and are thinking about offering in the future. Notably, Gallup’s survey data indicated that when it comes to what employees want, “[t]he two clear winners were not the ones organizations offered most.”
What Do Employees Value Most?
So, what do employees value most? According to Gallup’s poll, the top factor that would cause employees to consider changing jobs is access to more paid time off (PTO) or vacation time. While more employers offer flexible schedules—and while these fall in the middle of the range of employee priorities—the data show that the ability for employees to set their own hours is not as important as many employers seem to think.
Based on Gallup’s data, employees’ priorities—from highest to lowest—are:
• Increased PTO or vacation time
• Remote work or work-from-home options
• Four-day workweek
• Choice of which days employees work each week
• Flexible start and end times
• Flextime or choice of which hours employees work each day
• Shorter shift lengths
• Three-day workweek
• Work at any location (on-site)
In an article discussing Gallup’s findings, the Harvard Business Review notes that employees who have a four-day workweek “reported lower active disengagement and higher overall well-being . . . [which] suggests that a four-day workweek may provide advantages to those who do not have options to work remotely.” This is in line with another recent finding that “[e]mployee engagement also matters.” Studies have shown that employees who spend less time in the office are more likely to make the most of the time they have and that adequate rest and recuperation are critical to employee productivity as well.
Building a Stable and Productive Workforce in 2023
Ultimately, however, the HBR article notes that while “[p]erks and benefits may successfully attract new employees . . . they don’t guarantee high engagement and productivity.” These come from effective management and a top-down culture of personal accountability. In other words, while employee retention and attracting top talent need to be priorities, effective organizational management needs to be a priority as well. By taking a strategic and data-driven approach to human resources, companies can not only build stable workforces but also get the most out of their employees.
Speak with a Human Resources Consultant at Mithras Investments
We provide strategic and data-driven human resources consulting services to businesses throughout the United States and around the globe. If you have questions about what your company can (and should) be doing to manage its workforce more effectively, you can call 305-517-7911 or contact us online to arrange a confidential consultation.
