Employability top of mind amid uncertain economic environment
The majority of employees in the United States are willing to come to the office if it means greater employability and if it comes with more benefits, according to a new report.
Randstad USA's latest Workmonitor Pulse survey revealed that 70% of employees prefer greater employability over the ability to work remotely.
In fact, 63% of the respondents said they are unlikely to leave their jobs if asked to come on-site three or more days a week.
The findings indicate a shift in employees' mindset on office returns, which the report attributed to lingering uncertainty in the market.
Organisations, such as Intel, Volvo, Nissan, Panasonic, among others, have been implementing layoffs to streamline their workforces in the wake of external challenges.
LinkedIn also revealed that 37% of jobseekers said they are hearing back less from organisations, despite applying to more jobs than ever.
"In today's uncertain economic environment, it's no surprise that employability remains a top priority to workers," said Marc-Etienne Julien, CEO of Randstad North America, in a statement.
The openness towards office returns also comes as more organisations implement such policies.
An analysis of Build Remote revealed that 84% of Fortune 500 companies with a public workplace policy operate on a hybrid work schedule. On the other hand, 24 companies in the Fortune 500 have publicly stated that they require employees to be on-site five days a week.
But employees don't plan on coming to the office without expecting anything from their employers, according to Randstad.
It found that 63% of employees would expect more flexibility with their work hours when they return on-site.
Another 62% said they expect more annual leave days and a higher salary.
The findings underscore the importance of making office returns "commute worthy" for employees. In fact, a poll from Ringover last year revealed that 96.3% of employees in the US would be willing to return on-site if it came with a variety of benefits, such as:
Employees' demand for flexibility also became more apparent as the report found that 62% prefer greater control over their working hours than a higher salary.
It also found that 61% of workers prefer less stress over higher pay, and that 41% have already taken pay cuts for lower-stress jobs.
Despite this, the report found that a pay raise remains the top retention driver for employees (79%). This is followed by professional development (74%) and sharing the same vision and values with company leadership (74%).
"What really stands out in the Randstad Workmonitor survey is the growing emphasis on flexibility, wellbeing, and setting boundaries. These factors are becoming just as critical, if not more, for employers looking to attract and retain talent," Julien said.
"Organisations that recognise and adapt to these evolving trade-offs will not only attract stronger talent, they'll build the kind of trust and loyalty that drives long-term performance."
