Valentine's Day is all about expressing your love for your nearest and dearest but company owners should be more concerned with the affections of their employees according to the findings of a YouGov poll.
The survey, conducted on behalf of employee services consultancy Croner, found that stressed staff are falling out of love with their jobs, with non-financial factors such as poor relationships with colleagues, heavy workload and long hours the main reasons.
According to the research, employers who fail to address work/life balance issues risk losing stressed staff to businesses that not only offer attractive salaries, but also ‘lifestyle' benefits, such as flexible working.
Just 14% of those questioned said they never get stressed at work, while of those who do feel the pressure only 12% cited pay and benefits as the main cause.
"Stressed and dissatisfied employees leads to higher staff turnover," said Richard Smith, employment services director at Croner. "But employers of all sizes could dramatically improve retention levels by considering non-financial rewards, such as flexible working, which could include a flexi-time system and homeworking."
Croner recommends small companies in particular should look to offer more flexible working arrangements to reduce staff stress levels and make their company more attractive as an employer. It offers the following tips:
- Offering flexible working schemes
- Implementing corporate social responsibility initiatives
- Promoting diversity and equality
- Encouraging work/life balance
- Effective talent management
- Investing in employees' personal and professional development
"While salary is a key consideration for most employees, many are looking for a company that fits with their lifestyle, for example an organisation that offers childcare vouchers and flexible working may appeal more to those with family," said Smith. "This is a great option for smaller companies who may not have the resources to offer complex reward schemes.
"Today's best practice employers are even going one step further, for example adopting an eco-friendly ethos as more people become concerned with protecting the environment," he added. "This is usually as part of wider corporate social responsibility strategy which might also cover charitable work and policies on fair treatment of customers, suppliers and staff."
