Engineering Inc. - July/August 2003 - 18

Current economic conditions have forced many employees to look even more
favorably at companies with longstanding histories that As one might
expect, there is a n d weekend work often at Many employees who appear to
be good at riding little difference between engi- the expense of a
worker's per- telecommute report that they through the rough times. n e e
r s and other professionals sonal life. Though conventional g e t much
more done at their when it comes to the fundamen- w i s d o m holds that
younger home offices, because there are tals: The benefits that prove the
w o r k e r s aren't as concerned fewer distractions, says SHRM's m o s t
effective in hiring and a b o u t their personal lives as Scanlan. They're
able to focus r e t a i n i n g good workers cut o l d e r workers, that,
too, is on the task at hand, and not be a c r o s s all industries. Good
changing. pulled away a half a dozen times healthcare insurance, a
competi- Today's up-and-comers the and then try to re-focus. tive salary,
and generous vaca- 30-somethings are the kids we Jo b - s h a r i n g a l
l o w i n g two tion and holiday benefits tend to left at home while we
went out people to split up the work of c o n v i n c e workers to sign on
b u r n i n g our bras and carving o n e a l s o is becoming more w i t h a
company and to stay, our path, says Pat Holcomb, popular. Often the workers
who a c c o r d i n g to a Society for president of The Picus Group, a take
advantage of this arrange- Human Resource Management management consulting
firm in m e n t are parents who want SHRM survey in 2002. R o a n o k e ,
Va. So now those more time with young children. After that come the perks:
kids want the human connec- For example, one employee Charlene Allen, vice
president Family-friendly benefits, creative tion that they missed; family
is might work three days of a 40- of human resources, CDM p e r s o n a l
services, generous very important to them. hour work week, while her job-
financial incentives and liberal A s a result, flexible work sharing
partner works the other b u s i n e s s travel policies. Such programs,
well-baby consulting, s c h e d u l e s are now the norm. t w o days and
they split the e x t r a s help attract and keep nursing mother's room and
even The SHRM survey found that p a y c h e c k accordingly. While top
talent, especially in profes- lactation consultants. 64 percent of
companies offered j o b - s h a r i n g was virtually sions such as
engineering. Frank Scanlan, a spokesman some type of alternative work u n
h e a r d of ten years ago, for SHRM, says employers now schedule,
compared to 56 per- S H R M found that last year, It Takes a Village rank
on-site child care and child c e n t in 1998. Hewitt's survey a b o u t
one in four businesses A 2001 survey by Hewitt Asso- care reimbursements
as one of showed an even higher percent- offered this flexible work
option. ciates, a global human resources t h e most effective benefits
age: 74 percent. It all comes down to quality consulting firm, showed that
a employers can offer to help hire Flex schedules take many o f life, says
Holcomb, who top priority for today's workers and keep good workers. f o r
m s . According to SHRM, f i n d s more workers asking is finding a safe,
affordable place Many firms also help employ- about one-third of companies
potential employers to paint a to care for their children while ees to care
for aging parents a n ow offer a compressed work c l e a r picture of their
work they work. growing concern for many baby week, where an employee might
schedule before signing on the It's probably No. 1, says b o o m e r s .
Half the companies work four 10-hour days instead d o t t e d line. People
are only Rebecca Hayne, a public rela- t h a t Hewitt surveyed offered of
five 8-hour days, or any other willing to attend so many night- tions
associate for Hewitt Associ- referral services for elder care, c o n f i g
u r a t i o n of the 40-hour time meetings or to give up so ates. It has
tremendous value to counseling and workshops, or work week. many lunches
for the Chamber employees, and it cuts across all l o n g - t e r m care
insurance. In Some companies let employ- of Commerce. segments of the
employee popu- 1998, only 40 percent of com- ees work part-time to ease
back I n t e r e s t i n g l y, being able to lation. As for employers,
they panies offered such services. into a job after a long leave, or dress
casually at work tends to want to make sure their employ- to ease out of a
job before retire- be more important to engineers Quality Time ees don't
have to worry about ment. And an increasing num- than it is for the
average worker, child care when they're at work. Another popular benefit:
being b e r of companies are offering a c c o r d i n g to a separate 2002
O n - s i t e child care centers creative about when and where s p l i t
time schedules, which sur vey by SHRM that studied remain relatively rare,
according workers clock in to do their allow for long breaks in the mid-
the prevalence of different bene- to the survey, which questioned jobs.
SHRM found that compa- dle of the day so workers can fits across 16
industries. Indus- 9 3 5 major employers in late n i e s now rank flexible
work run errands or attend a child's tries that include engineers also 2001
and found that 93 percent s c h e d u l e s among the top 10 school play. t
e n d to offer creative perks had some type of child care ben- benefits
considered most effec- As for telecommuting, 37 per- such as company-paid
member- efit. Most benefits took the form tive in luring and retaining
good c e n t of companies now allow ships to health clubs, pet health of
dependent care accounts, dis- employees. t h e i r workers to do so, com-
insurance and massage therapy counts for child care providers, Years ago
climbing the corpo- p a re d to 25 percent in 1998, a t work in higher
numbers school holiday programs, camp r a t e ladder meant long hours SHRM
found. than other industries. The same l August 2003 1 8 E N G I N E E R I
N G INC. J u l y
Engineering Inc. - July/August 2003

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Engineering Inc. - July/August 2003
