With only 17 per cent of Brits admitting they love their job, no wonder one of the biggest HR trends this year is employee happiness.
LinkedIn recently published their 2019 Global Talent Trends report, an annual survey of 5,100 hiring professionals, which informs businesses of today’s hiring challenges and solutions. This year’s report focuses on the transition of the employer-employee power dynamic, giving way to a more transparent, trusting relationship.
According to the research, 75 per cent of UK hiring professionals say that flexible working will be ‘very or extremely important’ in the future, with 84 per cent acknowledging that it helps employees maintain a better work-life balance and 72 per cent agreeing it makes their workforce happier.
With only 17 per cent of people admitting they love their job how can businesses take these trends on board and improve employee happiness?
Lorna Davidson, CEO of short-term recruitment specialist RedWigWam, commented
I’m not surprised that flexible working is now being viewed as a necessity, it’s the very foundation upon which RedWigWam was built. Recruiters have got to understand that the workforce is ever changing, and people need to be able to work around their lives – the days of a strict 9-5 will soon be a thing of the past.
An online survey of 2,000 working Brits found that seven out of 10 employees take less than an hour for lunch and many would rather have flexible working hours than any designated lunch break. When asked what they would prefer instead of a lunch break, 40 per cent said they would rather have reduced working hours so they could come in to work late or leave early.
Lorna Davidson added,
There’s already so much pressure on parents to maintain a work-life balance, employers have a responsibility to offer and encourage flexible working options. Not being able to support requests to work flexibly could result in unhappy workers, looking for jobs elsewhere.
Offering flexible working conditions is now a key way to gain employee’s respect, whilst increasing productivity and happiness at work. Businesses not being prepared for these requests can leave staff feeling stuck in a working pattern which doesn’t fit their lifestyle, this results in staff feeling guilty for taking time off, with some even missing out on major life events – all of these factors have a major effect on how much employees value and like or love their job.
Other top trends that emerged from the study were pay transparency and greater demand for soft skills.
Interested in flexible working and the future of work? We recommend the Employee Engagement Summit 2019, Reward Strategies to Deliver Business Objectives training day and the Future of Work Summit 2019.
Aphrodite is a creative writer and editor specialising in publishing and communications. She is passionate about undertaking projects in diverse sectors. She has written and edited copy for media as varied as social enterprise, art, fashion and education. She is at her most happy owning a project from its very conception, focusing on the client and project research in the first instance, and working closely with CEOs and Directors throughout the consultation process. Much of her work has focused on rebranding; messaging and tone of voice is one of her expertise, as is a distinctively unique writing style in my most of her creative projects. Her work is always driven by the versatility of language to galvanise image and to change perception, as it is by inspiring and being inspired by the wondrous diversity of people with whom paths she crosses cross!
Aphrodite has had a variety of high profile industry clients as a freelancer, and previously worked for a number of years as an Editor and Journalist for Prospects.ac.uk.
Aphrodite is also a professional painter.
