Help employees build work around life, not the other way around

In the post-pandemic environment, there’s a lot of discussion around the changing attitudes about work.  It boils down to people prioritizing “life” ahead of work and wanting their work to flex around the demands of the other parts of their life: childcare, eldercare, experiences (concerts, travel, etc.). It’s not that people don’t want to work – or won’t work but that they want to be able to meet the other demands of their lives.  

So, how can organizations find and keep employees by better understanding this new prioritization?  Here are a few ideas:

Flexibility: Offer employees the chance to pick shifts, trade shifts, or otherwise choose when they work (within parameters).  Instead of the hours they work, think about the deadlines they need to meet. This approach can also work with hourly employees. For example, you can set it up as, “you have 10 hours to get XYZ done, and it needs to be completed by Wednesday at 5 pm.” Then, they can choose which hours they work. 

Oh, but I can hear some of you thinking, “I have to have people on site to serve my customers.” I understand!  Healthcare is a good example. Instead of hiring someone for a specific schedule, i.e., days and times, consider hiring them for x number of hours per week with a self-select schedule and let them choose the hours that best fit their life. (FYI - a tool like “Find my shift” can be helpful!)

Support: Offer employees support for childcare (subsidies or tools like wee care) or eldercare options.  Consider offering schedules that allow for school drop-off, pick-up and days off or work-from-home options when school is out to ease the stress around finding care for children.

Options:  Offer time off, flexibility or work-from-anywhere opportunities when employees need time to support family (weddings, funerals, illnesses) or offer flexible holidays that can be exchanged for a traditional holiday for one that better fits their family’s traditions. For example, Christmas for Ramadan.

To find and keep today's employees, focus on how you can personalize their experience. Think of it as flipping the script. Pre-pandemic, many employees flexed their lives around work, sacrificing family time and other obligations. Now, organizations and leaders can make changes to help flex work around employees’ lives.