>Date: Wed, 23 Feb 2000 11:46:05 -0500 >From: 32 HOURS <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >MIME-Version: 1.0 >To: [EMAIL PROTECTED], "[EMAIL PROTECTED]":Action for Full Employment <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >Subject: News from 32 HOURS > > NEWS FROM 32 HOURS > >Attracting and retaining skilled workers is the name of the game these >days in the high tech sector. And what are these workers looking for? >Shorter hours, according to new research by Dr. Linda Duxbury. >From the >Globe and Mail, Wed., Feb. 23: > >Give us a break, high-tech workers say >Shorter hours can help firms retain top talent, research suggests. > > MARGOT GIBB-CLARK > > Tuesday, February 22, 2000 > > TORONTO -- Employees in Canadian > high-technology companies work long hours, > but they aren't particularly happy about it. > > And most are in the game for the excitement > rather than the money, according to new > research by three Ottawa-area professors. > > "That means if all your retention strategies are > around money, you'll lose people," one of the > professors, Carleton University's Linda > Duxbury, told a recent conference for human > resources managers. > > The studies, based on research of 1,600 > employees, serve as a warning to high-tech > companies that are scrambling to find and > keep good staff in a tight talent market. > > Employees who were surveyed or > interviewed complained that long hours are > expected as part of the high-tech culture. > One-quarter said their managers have > unrealistic expectations about workload. > > Also, about one-third said that the single > change companies could make to improve > their career would be to address the long > work hours. > > Employees in the studies work an average 48 > hours a week. More than three-quarters take > work home evenings and weekends, and one > in five works 60-hour weeks. > > Dr. Duxbury, well known for her research on > stress and work-life balance, undertook the > studies with colleagues Lorraine Dyke of > Carleton and Natalie Lam of the University > of Ottawa. > > They looked at what the employees consider > success, the strategies they use to get it, and > and the support or barriers they encountered > from their managers or companies. > > Two-thirds said they define career success > as having satisfying work and respect, while > a smaller group want the more traditional > rewards of career advancement and money. > > They mentioned repeatedly that they love > working with the actual technology and many > aren't at all interested in becoming managers. > > High-tech employees like to move around, > the researchers discovered, both between > companies and inside them. Staffers said they > see this mobility as the only way to gain a > variety of experience and, therefore, to be > secure. > > They are frustrated with companies that don't > make internal transfers easy and are more > likely to leave them. They also hate the idea > of being stuck in overspecialized > departments. They see this as the kiss of > death because they fear their skills could > become outdated. > > Some technology companies worry that if > they develop staff, they will just lose them, > Dr. Duxbury said. But the research shows > the reverse is true: People are more likely to > leave the companies that don't train them. > > One finding was that the age of workers has > a much bigger impact on their attitudes than > gender or job type. The researchers looked > at workers younger than 30, those from > 30-39 and those 40 and older. > > "I've never seen anything like it. These > people live in different worlds," Dr. Duxbury > remarked in a presentation to the Human > Resources Professionals of Ontario in > Toronto. The research was funded by a > related body, the Human Resources > Research Institute. > > "What [companies] need to do for people > under 30 is very different from what you do > for those 30 to 39 and for those over 40," > she reported. > > Older workers said that they feel neglected. > They see everything being done for younger > staffers. "They still want support and it's not > there," she said, pointing out that they have > another 20 years or more to work. > > People under 30 reported that they have > very few job-life conflicts despite the long > hours, but 95 per cent of them have no > children. > > One difficulty with the findings, Dr. Duxbury > said, is that it is impossible to know whether > the under-30 group will have different > attitudes than their older colleagues when > they get older. > > Her personal bet is that the difference reflects > the fact they do not yet have children, and > once they do, they will feel the same conflicts > experienced by older workers, she said in an > interview. > > The 30-to-39 age group reported the highest > level of work-family conflict and they are > also the group most dissatisfied with their > workloads. > > Asked their strategies for furthering their own > careers, 40 per cent said they would increase > their formal education. An equivalent number > reported that they would try to broaden their > knowledge through things such as lateral > moves. One-third said they would look at > independent learning opportunities. > > This suggestion comes from an already highly > educated group, Dr. Duxbury noted. > Two-thirds have at least one university > degree and one-third have two or more. > > The studies' participants indicated that the > opportunities they want include challenging > assignments (90 per cent), funded training > (70 per cent) and mentoring (60 per cent). > > But they said there are gaps in these areas, > she said. For example, only 50 per cent felt > they actually get challenging assignments, and > only 20 per cent receive funded training. It > would be relatively easy for companies to > add training, she pointed out. > > The fast pace of the high-tech sector is both > its most rewarding aspect for some > employees and frustrating for many others. > "For some people, it's an exciting roller > coaster ride and for others, it's ulcer city," > Dr. Duxbury said. "That's a paradox." > > Employees said they would prefer features > such as change management training, rather > than money, to help cope with the pace. Yet > "as long as you reward workload, that's what > you'll get," she cautioned. "Look at your pay > structures." > > Fifteen hundred staffers completed > questionnaires while another 110, chosen > because they were high achievers, were > interviewed. > > The survey group was 35 years old on > average while the interviewees were 33. > Seventy-five per cent of the sample were > men. > > "If these key people aren't happy, companies > need to know about it," Dr. Duxbury said, > "because they can't afford to lose them." > >Mark Hudson >32 HOURS >244 Gerrard St. E., >Toronto, ON >Canada M5A 2G2 >416-925-6522 >[EMAIL PROTECTED] >
