Work??? Let’s Go to Coachella!!!
Music festivals, beer festivals, hiking, scuba diving, day parties at the pool and trips abroad. No matter what the pastime, millennials are the workforce of the future and they’re forcing employers to revisit the benefit program of time off. When millennials began to enter the workplace, they became increasingly unhappy with the unbalanced ratio of work to personal life and have pushed for more work/life balance. One way they’ve changed the landscape is by demanding flexible time off.
What’s flexible time off?
Flexible time off is basically unlimited vacation or paid time off. Sounds like a nightmare for employers and a dream come true for employees, right? The reality is that the majority of employees probably will not take any more time off then they normally do.
So why offer it?
There are so many reasons why an employer should offer flexible time off. One big reason is it’s a flashy recruiting tool being used by some of the top employers in the nation. It also reduces stress for your employees who don’t have to worry about accruing hours before taking time off.
And perhaps the biggest perk of offering flexible time off is that you will never have to pay out accrued hours because there were none earned.
The Downside…for the employees
Even though the term is unlimited, it’s really not because any time off that wasn’t earned and due the employee needs to be approved. Time off requests may not be approved because there are other priorities such as deadlines, presentations or other employees have already requested the same days.
While it’s still not a standard and seems to be an exception to the rule, flexible time off seems to be the next evolution in employee benefits. As more and more millennials make their way into the workplace, offering them and other potential employees benefits that fit their idea of work/life balance can help recruit and keep quality employees. With a summer full of music festivals ahead, now is a great time to begin designing a time off program that works for your practice and your employees.