Hourly Workers Optimistic About Job Prospects
A new study found that hourly employees were more interested in earning promotions than switching jobs.
Jun 12, 2019
MINNEAPOLIS -- Especially in today’s tight labor market and the demand for hourly employees at all-time highs, it’s never been more important for employers to understand the needs and concerns of hourly workers. A recent Branch Report found that nearly 70% of hourly workers were more optimistic about their job prospects than the state of the economy (50.1%).
At work, hourly employees wanted to more hours (more than 40%), while only 8% wanted fewer hours. One of the biggest challenges for hourly workers is the volatility of their schedules, which can in turn impact their pay. Nearly 80% experience some degree of pay variance from week to week.
Besides higher wages (63.4%), most employees noted that scheduling stability and flexibility were top factors. More than half wanted a stable, predictable schedule (57%) and almost 40% wanted greater scheduling flexibility and control over when they worked (38%). A positive work culture also ranked high on the list with 49.7% of respondents citing it as a top factor.
Higher wages were also top of mind within their current employment situation (36.5%), but a promotion at work was a close second. Hourly workers were twice as interested in using their work experience to earn a promotion at their current employer (31.9%) rather than switching jobs (15.7%). Employee perks/discounts and qualifying for health insurance were at the bottom of the list.
As for their top career advice resources, family was overwhelmingly their top source (39.5%), with manager at work a distant second (14.6%). More hourly employees were more optimistic about their job prospects (69.4%) than the state of the economy (50.1%).
