UNITED KINGDOM: Companies across the country have been competing to hire more Gen Z workers in an attempt to solve the ongoing staff shortage. One of the most notable ways is by offering ‘early finish Fridays’.
Corporations are competing for younger staff by providing incentives and an effort to help young people adjust to a working environment post-pandemic. Such efforts include offering free premium coffee and luxurious perks. However, an interesting trend has been reported by job portal Adzuna which claims that more than 1,400 job postings mention an “early-finish Friday” to attract prospective employees.
The trend has been observed mostly among postings for junior roles, with nearly 75% of the ads promoted aimed at professionals earning between twenty thousand to forty thousand pounds.
Andrew Hunter, the co-founder of Adzuna, believes the trend is likely for a while to come. He believes that, since the pandemic, balancing work and life has become increasingly crucial, and employees are expecting more. Consequently, a rise in employment advantages that offer flexibility or decreased hours to attract recruits has been observed, and this figure is expected to remain strong as companies discover new strategies to draw top talent.
Employers have been compelled to fight for workers as a result of the labour shortfall. While the number of openings has declined in recent months from an “all-time highs” to 1.1 million, the figure is projected to remain high as long as the shortage remains.
Further efforts by the UK government to solve the labour crisis have been noted. Jeremy Hunt, Chancellor of the Exchequer, changed the pension laws. The lifetime cap on UK pension savings has been abolished in a bid to entice elderly individuals back into the labour force, an act that will be beneficial to the country's richest savers.
Some people stay sceptical regarding the effectiveness of utilising incentives to bring in young workers. "At some point, you'll be doing things you don't want to do," Lewis Kemp of Manchester-based Lightbulb Media wrote on LinkedIn. Trust, respect and adequate compensation are more valuable than any luxurious incentive a company can offer, he concludes.
Edited By: Alanna Fullerton
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