Laura Lloyd headshot Written by: Laura Lloyd

It’s Time To Think About ‘Life-Work Balance’

Our lives have changed a lot in the last two years. Just think about it: the daily commute to work now consists of a walk to a room in our house and our daily meetings are taken behind a computer screen. 

At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, many of us were forced to work remotely from outside of the office, and while the change may not have been welcomed at the start, one thing we noticed was that for many of us we were able to remain just as productive—some people maybe even more so. 

This pandemic has shifted people’s priorities and caused many of the top-talent recruits we work with to reevaluate their lives and how the job they do fits into it. For candidates, it’s no longer about finding a balance between work and life but prioritizing living our best lives and fitting work around that mold. 

Here are some things we’re hearing from candidates and what they are looking for before they will accept any new position.

1.) Live your best life: Leaders are looking for opportunities to follow their dreams. We’ve seen a massive shift in the workforce in the past two years. There was a mass exodus of people retiring and leaving their jobs and others quitting to pursue other passions. Now, top talent wants a chance to create their best life, and that even takes priority over the job required to fund it. 

2.) Hybrid workplace: This remote work situation was never intended to be permanent, but what we’re finding now after two years in the process is it’s becoming a necessity. If you want to attract the best candidates, you have to be able to give them the opportunity to choose where they work. If employers want to bring in the best, this is what the best is asking for.

3.) No more one-size-fits-all solution: Shorter workweeks, better benefits, hybrid work, flexible hours, these are some of the requests we’re seeing candidates give employers. And employers need to accept the fact that they have to amend what they offer to employees if they want to secure and keep the best talent possible. 

So, if you’re an employer reading this, what are you going to do? There’s no reason to stress about the process, you just need to embrace that change has happened and find ways to implement strategies to make sure you can secure the best workforce. 

You don’t have to start by immediately rewriting every policy you’ve ever made, but here are a few ways you can start to improve your company’s standing with the best talent and compete in this candidate’s market. 

  • Respect your employee’s boundaries
  • Require calendar invitations to meetings. No more unexpected interruptions in your day or just “checking in.” 
  • Flexibility is key. Many of our clients are having to re-evaluate PTO offerings and hybrid remote/office work and flex work schedules.

If you need help or strategies to find your next leader worth following, then reach out to me here. I would love to talk with you.