Offering over the top perks may be the latest way to lure top talent, but according to a recent survey highlighted in the Harvard Business Review, what American employees really want is the freedom to control their own schedules.
Fractl, a content marketing company, surveyed 2,000 U.S. workers on how heavily certain benefits (from on a list of 17) would affect their decision to take a job.
Unsurprisingly, health insurance came out on top, with 88 percent of participants rating it as an important factor in deciding whether to accept a job. What is unexpected, however, is how the other top-ranking benefits like flexible hours and work from home options reflect a changing work landscape, one where employees value flexibility and control of their own schedules over fancy (and expensive) benefits.
Eighty percent of respondents answered that they’d give “some or heavy” consideration to a job that came with flexible hours, and 80 percent would consider a role where they could work from home. And as the HBR piece points out, “both of these benefits typically cost the employer nothing — and often save money by lowering overhead costs.”
The survey shows that perks really aren’t everything and it doesn’t cost much to make employees happy. Workers want the freedom to create a healthy integration between work and life, which is ultimately good for everyone.
To learn more about what matters most to potential employees, read the HBR article here.
Originally published at journal.thriveglobal.com