Why the 30-Hour Week is perfect for Employee Recruiting and Retention
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Attracting tech talent to your company can be expensive and difficult. Post and pray on the common job platforms doesn’t work well, and hiring an external recruiter is very expensive. So in the following I will explain why posting a 30-hour job on 30 for Future is a great and cost effective way to attract talent to your company, and why employees with a 30 hour work week will stay longer at your company. So let’s start:

There are many reasons why talented employees join your company: A position where they can grow professionally and personally, a good salary, and other benefits. But do you know what’s also very important to most of your employees? It should be a no brainer, but bingo, it’s their free time. And I can also back that up with data: 

First, our targeted Ads that we place on YouTube, Facebook and Instagram have such a great response rate, and our Email list grows quicker as companies can upload job posts on 30 for Future. So we can guarantee you, that you will have several high profile applicants for your job offer, especially since in this way we can engage elite employees, who are not actively looking for a job.

Second, there is also a lot of studies out there that suggests that more and more employees want a 30 hour work week. One study from 2019 found out that 55% (!) of Germans would agree to the following statement: “If my employer would offer that I work for 4 days a week, I would be happy about more free time, even if my salary would be reduced respectively”. Let’s pause for a second, 55%! There is also a worldwide study regarding this topic. But let’s continue, there are more arguments.

An Austrian online agency introduced the 30 hour week, and the amount of applicants went up by the factor of 10! Pause again…

And especially for younger generations work-life balance becomes more important. Work-life balance is the most important criteria for them, when choosing a job. Combining this with the data, that 44% of millennials plan to change their jobs within the next two years, is another big argument for 30 for Future (Deloitte, 2016). And two thirds of German managers under 35 nowadays wish for working hours below 39.

Third, besides the data above there are many companies that introduced the 30 hour week already, and report from tremendous results in terms of employer recruiting and retention. To name a few: Brath, DockCheck, WeCruitr, MediaEvent Services, Bike Citizens. Moreover, the management professor Scott Behson argues in the Harvard Business Review, that reduced working hours have great potential for attracting and retaining great employees. If employees are able to work 30 hours a week in their company, it’s much more likely that they stay longer in this company, since they appreciate their 30-hour week, and can’t find it so easy elsewhere.

But now you may say, my employees and new candidates rarely ask for a 30 hour week. I give you my reasoning on that. I think many people have a problem to ask for things that are not culturally accepted in work culture yet. Furthermore, they are afraid, that it will harm their career if they ask for a 30 hour week. (Check out my personal story) But here 30 for Future comes into play, filtering out progressiv companies that are open to be part of that cultural change. And offering a 30-hour week is a distinctive sign of progressiveness, that will be attributed to the company culture as a whole. Let’s be honest: Fruits, drinks and other benefits in the office are great, but almost every company offers that nowadays.

So let all the arguments sink in, and let me know if you have any questions.

Sincerely,

Philipp Köbler