You might expect that job hunters would jump at any opportunity for employment these days, but that’s not the case. And sometimes the factors that matter most are surprising.
Take this recent study from the worldwide recruitment firm Hays, called “Tomorrow’s Workforce.” Hays surveyed more than 870 Australian employers and job candidates, but I suspect that the results would be similar elsewhere. I was most intrigued by the responses to questions posed as “As a job candidate, would you accept a job if ….” For example, almost a quarter of the respondents (23.8%) said that they would not accept a job if it didn’t allow employees to work from home at least occasionally. That strikes me as a huge percentage.
Another example that you might have more control over as a manager: One in five candidates will turn down an offer if they feel the job’s social media policies aren’t open enough. Nearly 20% said they wouldn’t accept a job in an organization that didn’t allow employees “a reasonable level of access to social media at work.”
Obviously, you need to follow your organization’s policies. If it has an official “No social media” rule, then you must enforce that. But if your organization has looser rules regarding Facebook, Twitter and the like, think about how you respond when you see employees using those sites. Is your automatic reaction to reprimand them and tell them to get back to work? Or do you consider the circumstances? If the employees have satisfactorily completed their work or are ahead of schedule, is it really a big deal if they spend a few minutes checking their accounts? Or do you encourage activity on sites such as LinkedIn, knowing that it can build your organization’s brand?
Think about it: If one in five candidates won’t accept a job that has a no-tolerance social media policy, imagine how many workers would want to leave their jobs if they felt that their supervisors were unnecessarily micromanaging their social media use. I’d guess the numbers are even higher.
What’s the most surprising reason you’ve seen someone turning down a job offer?
[Image Source: marshillonline]
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