{"id":3957,"date":"2017-04-27T10:37:17","date_gmt":"2017-04-27T14:37:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.insureyourcompany.com\/?p=3957"},"modified":"2024-05-08T10:30:56","modified_gmt":"2024-05-08T14:30:56","slug":"the-employee-engagement-conundrum-are-flexible-work-schedules-the-answer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/insureyourcompany.com\/blog\/the-employee-engagement-conundrum-are-flexible-work-schedules-the-answer\/","title":{"rendered":"The Employee Engagement Conundrum: Are Flexible Work Schedules the Answer?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Employees at small businesses often have more varied responsibilities than their counterparts at large corporations. While corporate employees tend to do highly specialized work, small business employees must wear several hats.<\/p>\n

That makes it more important for small businesses to retain valued employees and keep their morale high, because they\u2019re more difficult to replace.<\/p>\n

The Employee Engagement Problem<\/h2>\n

Most employees at American businesses are not engaged in their jobs\u2014in other words, they don\u2019t feel managers value their opinions, or they see no opportunity for professional advancement. In a 2015 survey of more than 80,000 workers at large and small businesses,\u00a0Gallup<\/a>\u00a0found that only 32% described themselves as \u201cengaged\u201d in their jobs; 51.8% said they were not engaged, and 17.2% said they were \u201cactively disengaged.\u201d<\/p>\n

For a small business with 100 employees, that means about 17, on average, are \u201cactively disengaged.\u201d Translation:\u00a0They don\u2019t like their jobs<\/em>\u2014and they\u2019re probably considering moving on. This is especially true for younger workers.<\/p>\n

In another survey, Gallup found that\u00a060% of millennials<\/a>\u00a0are thinking about moving on from their current job, and 50% are planning to do so in the next year. Many are dissatisfied with jobs that don\u2019t allow them to telecommute on occasion and lock them into inflexible work schedules.<\/p>\n

The Solution: Give Workers What They Want<\/h2>\n

It\u2019s important for small businesses to administer employee engagement surveys on a regular basis to find out what issues most concern their employees\u2014and to use that information to improve employee satisfaction in the workplace.<\/p>\n

Recent surveys indicate that what many workers want is more say in the design of benefits packages<\/a>, more recognition from their managers,\u00a0and more say over their work schedules. In an Intuit Quickbooks survey,\u00a0more than 80%\u00a0of workers said they wanted more flexibility on their jobs.<\/p>\n

For female workers, that means flexible work schedules\u2014more than half in the Gallup survey reported that a flexible work schedule was a major factor in their job choice, and 60% said that \u201cwork-life balance\u201d was \u201cvery important.\u201d As Julie Urlaub, founder of the sustainability consulting firm, the\u00a0Taiga Company<\/a>, explains: \u201cThe best-in-class business sustainability cultures can be summarized in two words: open and flexible.<\/em>\u201d For small businesses that want to retain female and younger employees, the question is whether flexible work schedules make sense for their companies.<\/p>\n

The Benefits of Flexible Work Schedules<\/h2>\n

The answer, in a word, is \u201cyes<\/em>\u201d according to Intuit Quickbooks. Flexible work schedules are not only doable\u2014they\u2019re actually beneficial, improving recruitment and retention efforts and boosting productivity.<\/p>\n

Here are 4 benefits to small business of offering flexible work schedules:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. You\u2019ll recruit and retain top talent<\/strong>: With more than 8 in 10 job seekers preferring flexible work schedules, you\u2019ll have a competitive edge in recruiting the most talented employees. Having a say in the design of their weekly hours will make them more engaged and more satisfied in their jobs, which will boost employee retention. The cost of replacing a current employee\u2014and retraining a new one\u2014is about\u00a0twice that employee\u2019s annual salary<\/a>.\u00a0For employees who make $40,000 a year, that\u2019s $80,000 per employee, making retention strategies like flexible work schedules a smart investment.<\/li>\n
  2. You\u2019ll reduce overhead costs<\/strong>: Allowing employees to work remotely, even part of the time, cuts the cost of everything from utility bills to office supplies. It also means you\u2019ll need less office space, which could save money on rental costs.<\/li>\n
  3. You\u2019ll spend less on absenteeism<\/strong>: When employees take the day off\u2014perhaps to care for a sick child or because they\u2019re not engaged in their jobs\u2014they still get paid. Those costs add up: On average,\u00a0absenteeism costs businesses<\/a>\u00a0$3,600 annually for each hourly worker and $2,650 a year for salaried employees. Flexible work schedules reduce absenteeism, another cost savings for small businesses.<\/li>\n
  4. Your workers will be more productive<\/strong>: Employees who are highly engaged in their jobs work about 6 times harder than those who are disengaged. They\u2019re more likely to take on more responsibilities, help their coworkers and find new ways to do their jobs more efficiently, all of which improve your company’s productivity. Flexible work schedules also let your business stay open more hours each day so you can serve more customers and increase sales.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    At first glance, offering flexible work schedules might seem impractical and costly. The fact is that workers who can design their own schedules are more likely to stay in their jobs, call in sick less frequently, and work harder for your small business\u2014all of which add to the bottom line.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Employees at small businesses often have more varied responsibilities than their counterparts at large corporations. While corporate employees tend to do highly specialized work, small business employees must wear several hats. That makes it more important for small businesses to retain valued employees and keep their morale high, because they\u2019re more difficult to replace. The […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":3958,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[191,4,207,235],"tags":[20,232,413,427,478,399],"class_list":["post-3957","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business-owner-resources","category-employee-benefits","category-employee-relations","category-office-management","tag-employee-benefits","tag-employee-management","tag-employee-motivation","tag-employee-performance","tag-employee-retention","tag-tips-for-employers"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t