What do office workers really want?

The cost of recruitment is high; companies with a high staff turnover need to continually assess what they are doing to retain staff. You might think that at the top of the list for employee satisfaction would be the salary, but surprisingly there are other more important factors. These can be broadly split into three categories:

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Flexibility

This is key to reducing workplace stress and addressing issues of work and life balance. Flexible working can encompass working from home, flexible hours and the ability to ask for unpaid leave and change to part-time hours. Parents of young children rate flexibility very high on their list of priorities. Term-time working in a school is a good option for those who wish to work term-time and part-time. Private businesses can also offer these options. It is often a matter of trust; employers should trust their workers to be doing a good job when they are not in the office.

At this stage it is useful to refer the reader to further studies on well-being and quality of life. Many statistics have been compiled on this subject. One such study can be found here: https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/wellbeing/articles/measuringnationalwellbeing/qualityoflifeintheuk2018.

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Mental and physical health

There are three crucial areas of physical, mental and financial health. A happy employee is an effective employee. Access to a workplace gym is an obvious incentive. Mediation programmes and access to counsellors and talking therapies help with mental well-being. Making sure that staff takes proper lunch and refreshment breaks is also key. A simple strategy would be to have a once-a-week cake break in a location where employees can meet and socialise.

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Purposeful working

Most workers don’t want to just do a job and take home the money; they want job satisfaction and to feel that they are making a difference. It is helpful if all employees are aware of the company vision and can contribute to decision-making. Employers need to share success stories from customers and say thank you when the job is done well. Expressing gratitude can be informal or it can be in the form of incentives such as workplace outings.