Well according to ADP Research Institute’s Global Workplace Study, 2022:
- 21% employee engagement can be achieved when a full-time employee also has an additional self-employed working opportunity.
- 16% employee engagement can be achieved when a full-time employee does not have an additional self-employed working opportunity.
Whilst an increase of 5% might not sound much on paper, this increase in engagement over a typical 37.5 hour working week equates to an additional 2 hours and 52 minutes engagement each week. That’s the best part 2.5 weeks over the course of a full-time working year!
The report also goes onto suggest that:
- Only 15.5% of employees worldwide are fully engaged at work.
- Over the past 4 years, engagement levels in the UK are unchanged.
- Over the past 2 years, the delta between upper management engagement and individual contributor engagement has increased (Upper Management: 30%; Individual Contributor: 11%).
There are many reasons why you might consider creating different employment opportunities for your people:
- Increased sense of purpose: It’s widely considered that employees seek greater meaning from their work; and what better way could there be than to create the space where your colleagues can create that for themselves alongside work.
- Increased opportunities for learning and self-development: It may be that the development opportunities that will help you to retain your colleagues are not available within your organisation. Therefore if they’re able to access these learning opportunities within other employment remits, you could see a reduction in your employee turnover as a result.
- Recruitment/retention differentiator: With competition for talent greater than ever and financial packages increasing as a result, organisations are having to think differently about how they attract talent. Greater flexibility will make you stand out from the crowd and creating the space for employees to self-educate, could result in you attracting more talent.
So what’s stopping organisations from making the change?
- Scheduling conflicts: Depending on the specific work schedule chosen, an employee with multiple commitments could overlook the responsibilities that they have to their employer if they’re not effectively managed.
- Conflicts of interest: It’s natural for organisations to be cautious about people working on projects outside of work; especially if those disciplines from work match those outside of the organisations. Organisations need open but clear guidance on how to strike the right balance before entering into new employment agreements; but also need to be careful not to close the door on additional opportunities altogether.
- The traditional status quo: Quite simply, the employment models referenced within the report typically goes against the typical employment status quo. It can feel uneasy to consider such a change; harder still to get buy-in from senior leaders.
Many accept that the world of work is changing and that demands from employees have grown. The statistics within the ADP Research Institute’s report reveal what can be achieved. So is now the ideal time to consider, how you’re going to adapt to get the most out of your people?
