45% of People Have FOMO When out of the Office

Adults employed full time in the U.S. work 47 hours per week on average, nearly a full workday longer than a standard five-day, 9-to-5 schedule. Salaried workers, on average, put in even more time — 25% say they work at least 60 hours per week.

Despite, or perhaps because of, the long hours we spend at work it appears we also have a “fear of missing out” or FOMO when we’re not in the office. According to a new Indeed survey, nearly 60% of respondents said that they like both their job and their colleagues and 45% missed coworkers or aspects of their job in some capacity while out of the office.

These findings suggest people want more from a workplace than somewhere to spend the majority of their waking hours. They value the work community they join, and when considering a new job, job seekers take this fit into consideration.

Companies can make a big contribution to building an attractive workplace — one that employees wouldn’t want to leave. In the news recently, two trends have stood out: the steps employers are taking around workplace flexibility and the introduction of more family-friendly policies.

Workplace flexibility

People are attracted to positions that fit their personal needs. In our recent report, Talent Attraction Study: What Matters to the Modern Candidate, we revealed the top factors candidates told us they consider when making a decision about a job offer. Of the more than 4,000 people surveyed, 50% of employed candidates were attracted to a job because it offered flexible hours.

Balancing personal and professional responsibilities is easier when the job provides some degree of flexibility. Flexible work schedules are also indicative of a company culture that focuses on achieving results and not managing tasks — an arrangement with tremendous benefits for both sides of the employment relationship.

Family-friendliness

Companies like Microsoft, Accenture and others have been receiving a lot of positive press for their family-friendly leave policies. Still, the vast majority of companies offer little or no paid family leave to their employees — according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, only 13% of full time workers in the U.S. are eligible for paid family leave.

And these types of policies don’t just affect professionals who are starting families. Many workers often manage full-time careers while also balancing caregiving and other family responsibilities.

More and more companies are beginning to understand that attracting highly skilled employees requires some out-of-the-box thinking. Candidates with skills in high demand know they have the upper-hand, and employers will need to think differently about how to win them over.

To learn how Indeed can help you attract top talent, contact us.