Our annual industry-wide Hiring Trends Survey asked: Has your company enriched office, communal spaces, or policies to enhance your work-life experience? 78% of nearly 1,000 respondents, who run the gamut of our industry, answered, “No.” With our “deal” orientation, the question of Work-Life Balance in our industry is very intriguing. For such a small industry, we join a myriad of Professional Associations compared to other industries and use them to collaborate, network and socialize. While we work hard, we play hard. But when a deal is hot – we chase it – there is no balance. With only 22% answering “Yes,” we can’t call it a trend, but here’s the work-life enrichments companies made that were especially valued: Flextime – “the same amount of time, accomplishing the same amount of work, but with flexible hours”. Hiring more people was highly valued as it made the workload manageable. Collaborative spaces were appreciated, but with our need to negotiate, private breakout rooms were considered a must. Employers who increased the percentage they pay of employee health benefits, and provide clear pay-for-performance policies also relieved stress. And we DO value the best real estate: “new or newly renovated office space” -“Class A” – in a “location” that offers more amenities in the immediate area.
January 21, 2015