Over one in two employees would choose to cut their working hours over a voluntary redundancy or extended unpaid leave if the choice was made mandatory, a new survey by Hays reveals.
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Over one in two employees would chose to cut their working hours over voluntary redundancy or extended unpaid leave if the choice was made mandatory by their employer, reveals a survey by specialist recruiter Hays.
In its online poll of over 850 Australian employees, 27 percent would opt for voluntary redundancy and 19 percent for extended unpaid leave. 54 percent prefer a cut to working hours.
"A cut to working hours ensures employees still receive a regular income stream, albeit at a reduced level, and they often feel they are a valued resource since their employer is taking steps to retain their skills despite financial difficulty," says Jane McNeil, Senior Regional Director of Hays in Perth.
"For employers, this strategy offers an immediate cost saving while ensuring they retain their staff, and when business activity resumes normal levels they can reinstate usual hours immediately rather than spending time recruiting skills that they previously made redundant.
"Often, this strategy can also increase staff loyalty, since employees appreciate their employer is taking this step over making redundancies.
"A cut to working hours could take the form of a nine-day fortnight, or the commencement of the working day could be pushed backwards by an hour.
"HR-related cost-cutting measures are often one of the first explored when times are tough. But it isn't a strategy that makes a great deal of sense when skills will need to be recruited again once conditions improve."
