A flexible workplace

“If my current employer could offer me a full-time graphic design job I’d take it in a heartbeat,” Ford says. “This is a great place to work. It’s unionized so I’m protected by seniority, I work part-time shifts so it’s easy for me to balance work and life, the pay is good, and I have benefits, which are hard to give up. My employer is also flexible about vacation and I’m taking four weeks off to travel this summer. Yet, even though my current job is rewarding in many ways, it’s not what I want to do—it’s not a career. When I find something in graphic arts, I’ll move on, hopefully to a place I can stay for a long time.”

The women are two of the 500 people who participated in Benefits Canada’s survey of Canadian 30-year-olds. The children of baby boomers, today’s 30-year-olds are at the tail end of Generation X or on the leading edge of the next demographic group referred to as Generation Y. Regardless of how defined, this up-and-coming generation is generally recognized as a highly educated bunch with a notoriety for overconfidence, fickleness, restlessness and impatience.

With that kind of reputation, it’s no surprise that 42% of survey respondents hope to work for multiple employers over the course of their career. Moving around a lot seems to make sense with their so-called fickle nature. But they express sound reasons for changing jobs: they see variety as a good thing, yearn for different experiences and want to learn new skills, avoid boredom and tackle new challenges.

What some employers may find startling, however, is that, like Hiscock and Ford, 59% of those surveyed said they would prefer to work at the same organization for their entire career. Why? They want stability. Other reasons for settling down with one employer include more chances for advancement, benefits, familiarity, commitment and job security.

Yet, whether they want to stay long term or find another job, 30-year-olds tend to expect a lot from the workplace. Ford, for example, wants not only to feel challenged by her bosses but also to have open communication in which they take the time to listen to her. Although she’d like an open environment where she could share ideas with co-workers, she’d also welcome the opportunity to work from home once she has children. “I guess I want the flexibility I need to manage my life,” she says.

Her peers have similar ideals. About three in four named competent/good management, rewarding work, a competitive salary, work-life balance, workplace environment and opportunities for career advancement as top factors for deciding if they should remain with or leave their current employer. Nearly two thirds listed health benefits, relationships with co-workers and opportunities for training and development as top factors, while approximately six in 10 rated vacation, pension plan and flexible work hours as important.

Another interesting finding is that, although most respondents said they prefer more pay over more flexibility in their work schedules, 58% also said they’d rather work a combination of in an office and from home. As well, the survey spelled out loud and clear that 30-year-olds value vacation over pay. In fact, 60% think their employers should provide four weeks of vacation or more each year, and 69% said they would take one week extra vacation time over one week extra pay. And, while time with family and time to relax are their top goals for the next 10 years, so is saving for retirement.

Older workers are apt to raise a few eyebrows at this “want it all” mentality, but with a skilled labour shortage looming, many employers are realizing they may have to do more to lure and hold on to younger workers.

“Companies that don’t care about understanding the needs of these employees will get caught in the labour crunch,” says Stephen Gould, senior vice-president of human resources at Purolator Courier Ltd., in Mississauga, Ont. “This age group has very high expectations. They are willing to express them more vocally, and they expect employers to meet their needs.”

Based on his own experience, Gould admits to surprise that so many 30-year-olds claim to want to stay in one place for their entire career. “That’s very different from other research I’ve seen, and it doesn’t reflect my own workplace where people 30 and younger are definitely less interested in staying than older employees,” he says. “Even if you do everything you can to try to meet their expectations, I don’t think it could ever be enough because younger employees tend to believe the grass is greener elsewhere.”

A BROAD BRUSH

Designing and maintaining workplace policies and programs targeted specifically at appeasing the younger generation isn’t is done with a brush broad enough to appeal to workers of all ages. John Yardley, director of Brock University’s Workplace Research Laboratory in St. Catharines, Ont., warns against trying to find simplistic answers to the attraction and retention question. In his own research, he’s found that baby boomers, baby busters and Generation X all highly rate the importance of balancing work and personal life. “Baby boomers tend to have children and parents to look after, while the many baby busters now have young children,” he explains. “I’d guess that [30-year-olds] are now preoccupied with having a personal life, but this generation will likely be quite different 10 years from now when they become managers [and] have partners, mortgages and children.”

So, although work/life balance issues such as more vacation time, flexible hours and the ability to work from home are important to many 30-year-olds, Yardley points out that other generations would rate them equally as important but for different reasons. And no generation is a completely homogenous group, he adds. “One size doesn’t fit all when trying to come up with programs and policies to satisfy various employees’ needs. No matter how old they are, not everyone wants the same things from their lives.”

Still, employers certainly face demographic challenges, especially in the context of a significant labour shortage, says Chris Bonnett, president of H3 Consulting in Toronto. One of the survey findings that struck him is that one quarter(24%)of 30-yearolds said they want to be self-employed or work on a contract basis, and only 55% wanted to be working full-time 10 years down the road. As skilled labour becomes scarce, Bonnett says employers may need to find ways to encourage these people to take on more traditional employment. In the meantime, he agrees that employers should develop policies and practices that span the whole workforce.

“At this point, 30-year-olds represent a small number, and employers still need to hang on to older workers,” he explains. “If you pay too much attention to the extreme ends of the spectrum, you risk having the middle group feeling left out. But the principles for retention are the same for all groups.”

Another survey finding that could pose challenges for employers is that 24% of respondents said they would rather work from home, and 58% preferred a combination of home and office. Although some employers are open to such arrangements, working from home is not a feasible option for many sectors such as retail, manufacturing or healthcare. Nor can all employers offer the flexible work schedule that so many young employees crave. “You can’t have staff dribble in if you have a production line or a hospital emergency room to run,” says Yardley. “Some workplaces just aren’t amenable to flexible time.”

But flexibility can mean many things to many people. Policies that encourage employee participation in decision making or allow lateral movement between jobs when promotions aren’t possible provide flexibility, which can keep workers motivated in the workplace.

As Yardley and Bonnett note, today’s 30-year-olds will be tomorrow’s 40-yearolds and their needs will likely change. “Employers need to develop a process to keep people engaged for the long term, and they can learn from existing 40-year-olds,” says Bonnett. “It’s a slow-moving target, which will evolve with plenty of time to work out a plan.”

As their lives and workplace needs change, people like Ford and Hiscock will likely appreciate employers’ forethought. “I think I’ll always want to work,” says Ford. “But once time goes on and I have a family, I hope my employer will offer me programs and flexibility to help me manage all the changes in my life.”

Sonya Felix is a freelance writer living in St. Catharines, Ont. sfelix@look.ca.

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