Friday, June 28, 2013

Report: Money really isn’t everything to the world’s changing professional workforce

Here’s what we’ve been reading/watching today:

1) There are changes afoot in the professional workforce. That’s according to a report from Thomson Reuters released Thursday, which finds that a majority of the more than 1,000 workers polled would, if given a choice, take a job they enjoy over one that pays them more. And if you think there’s a generational divide there, think again. According to the report, Millennials (or those roughly 18 to 35 years old) are just as likely as older workers to make that choice, the survey finds.

Read the full story: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/innovations/wp/2013/06/27/report-money-really-isnt-everything-to-the-worlds-changing-professional-workforce/

Tuesday, June 4, 2013

Free lunch vs. other perks: Why not let employees vote?

How much of a voice do your employees have in making decisions like which benefits they'd prefer, or how their workspaces are set up?

Plenty of research shows that millennials in particular want a say in these things, so enterprises big and small are trying harder to oblige. One place where it's working is daily-bargain website 1SaleADay.

Last November, management faced a dilemma: The company, which has grown from 45 employees to more than 360 in just three years, was facing steep hikes in health insurance premiums.

"We operate on razor-thin margins, so we had a lot of discussions about whether, and where, we could reallocate funds," recalls Eli Federman, a senior vice president who has helped grow the business since his brother Ben founded it in 2006.

One option: Stop giving employees lunch for free, a perk that cost 1SaleADay about $250,000 a year.

Read the full story:

http://money.cnn.com/2013/05/31/smallbusiness/employees-vote/index.html