For those employers that cannot afford to give workers a pay rise this year, an extra day’s holiday or a bit of further training might be a possible alternative.
According to an online poll among 2,002 adults undertaken by ICM Research on behalf of the People 1st Training Company, which operates in the hospitality, leisure, travel and tourism industry, about 31% saw an additional day off as the most appealing alternative to a wage hike, while just under a quarter said they would be most interested in further training and career development opportunities.
Younger employees were more likely to value extra training than older workers, however, with respondents aged between 18 and 24 (33%) and 25 and 34 (35%) being the most likely to put further training and career development at the top of their alternative options list.
Sharon Glancy, head of People 1st’s training division, said: “With businesses wary of the economy falling into a double-dip recession, resource is stretched and finding ways to keep employees happy and motivated in a cost-effective way is a real challenge."
Again in relation to training, meanwhile, some 69% of respondents said that they would feel more valued by their employer if it was presented as an option, while two thirds claimed that it would make them feel better both about their job and the company. A further three out of five indicated that they would be less likely to leave their employer and just over half attested that access to more training opportunities would make them work harder.
Leadership and management training were the most popular options (33%), followed by IT and social media skills (22%) and finance and administrative training (13%).
