New Values, New Attitudes in the Evolving Modern Workplace

It wasn’t that many years ago that the world of work expected an enormous amount of personal sacrifice in exchange for a paycheck. Most of us either know a parent or grandparent (or maybe a younger version of ourselves) who toiled long and exhausting hours at a job and, even if they were well-compensated hours, they didn’t leave a lot of time or energy for life outside of work. In more recent years, stressed-out employees have realized it didn’t necessarily have to be that way and looked for ways to change the paradigm of the traditional employment rat race.

Enter the concept of work/life balance into the professional landscape - a way to better manage the demands of a job and life outside of billable hours. Workers were growing eager to carve out more family time, pursue passions or become more fully actualized in their lives. As employees began seeking ways to find work/life balance, employers learned that helping them find it was a route to a more content workforce. To sweeten the pot, they offered perks that made work hours less rigid, eased external strains and made the work rewarding in new ways, like these:

• paid time off
• flexible scheduling
• work from home/hybrid work ability
• bonuses
• on-site meals, fitness centers
• child care credit (or on-site daycare and before and after school programs)
• reimbursement for continuing education
• transportation allowance
• team building activities at and after work
• opportunities to save and invest for milestones

These perks address pain points common among employees. By lessening time commitment, extra expense and inconvenience, employee’s resilience was raised. These employer-provided measures helped employees better manage their whole life and achieve a greater sense of balance.

The pandemic certainly brought further attention to how workers managed work and life. Untold numbers of people realized that they could work from anywhere while simultaneously realigning their personal priorities. As a result of the disruption to previously unconsidered routines, many vowed they would never again let their jobs so rigidly run roughshod over the quality of their lives.

With the spirit of work/life balance having settled into the fabric of modern work culture, it has sprouted generations of workers who expect to be wooed by the companies they work for and who are unwilling for the most part to sacrifice freedom for a steady paycheck. If they don’t get the right combination of compensation at one company, they have no qualms about moving on. On today’s resumes, a diverse list of jobs with short duration is not the red flag it once was about a worker’s suitability. Employees no longer think of a career in terms of one continuous employment with the same company, in the same position or even in the same field. The faithful 40-year tenure at a company is no longer the gold standard of employment perfection. Rather, today’s employees value variety and flexibility over what was once considered loyalty and financial security.

Workers’ values and attitudes have changed considerably and smart business owners know they must rise to the occasion by offering the types of environments, culture and opportunities today’s employees are looking for. When you do, you’ll be rewarded with happier, well-rounded workers who want to work for you, not just feel they have little other choice.

How does your business align with the values and attitudes of the modern workplace?