Not Your Parents' Workplace

The traditional workplace model of full-time employment and a fixed career path has undergone a definite shift to one that encompasses a more flexible way of working, according to two recent surveys of employees.

As baby boomers prepare to phase out of the workforce, they would like more options. A majority of the 495 survey respondents, both men and women, said they would consider leaving the workforce for a period of time.

Overall, 63 percent (58 percent of men and 68 percent of women) would like to take a career break. Among workers ages 26 to 41, the percentage is even higher: 70 percent of Generation Xers would consider taking a career break.

The four main reasons to take a career break were parenthood (63 percent), an avocation or life outside of work (43 percent), stress or burnout (37 percent) and entrepreneurship (35 percent).

Not surprisingly, 70 percent of female respondents ranked parenthood as the top reason for taking time out. Men were also interested in career breaks, but their top reason was quite different; 59 percent of male respondents chose an avocation or life outside of work as the number one reason.

But companies have been slow to respond to the increasing demand for flexibility, says Corrie Martin, senior program manager for Tuck Executive Education at Dartmouth College. Tuck conducted the surveys in conjunction with Aquent, a Boston staffing company, and New Jersey-based consultant Work+Life Fit Inc. "They haven't yet felt the pain of the coming talent shortage, and therefore haven't been forced to respond."

But that will change. Pointing out that "The demographics are against them," Martin advises company officials to adapt to changing needs by tying flexibility strategies to their overall talent management strategies. Expand the recruiting pool by considering a broader range of qualified candidates, she urges. Those candidates might include former employees, people who have taken time out of the workforce, part-timers and others who need to work flexible hours.

"HR executives get it," says Martin of the changing workforce needs, so "they need to use their influence and power to guide the business unit leaders, who don't get it."

Reprinted with the permission of Society for Human Resource Management (www.shrm.org), Alexandria, VA.

Source: HRMagazine. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. Powered by Yellowbrix.

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