To understand how to combine face-to-face work in the office with flexibility and autonomy, and how this is being done by companies, Gallup surveyed more than 5,700 U.S. workers in industries such as manufacturing, transportation, health care, education, and service, finding out 10 types of flexibility that entice workers to switch jobs:
With this list in mind, the researchers asked on-site employees if their employers offered these benefits. The most common answer was a casual dress code (55%), followed by flexible check-in and check-out times (33%) and the choice to make your own working hours (31%).
The professionals were also asked which of the options on the list would make them change jobs. There were two winners: more paid time off or increased vacation time (57%) and 4-day work weeks (44%).
In an article for the Harvard Business Review, Jim Harter, Gallup’s chief scientist for workplace management and well-being, commented that vacations play an important role for organizations.
“Gallup has found that people with more vacation time — controlling for other factors, including income — report higher well-being. But Gallup research also shows that people with engaging work and one week of vacation report 25% higher well-being than actively disengaged workers who have six or more weeks of vacation.”
He points out that the four-day working week has received a lot of attention in recent years, and says that Gallup research has found that among those with fully face-to-face work responsibilities, those who work four days a week reported less disengagement and greater overall well-being.
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Source: HBR