Worcester Business Journal

wbjournal.com | November 11, 2024 | Worcester Business Journal 15 Holidays with theClub December 5 5:30 PM Kick-off to the Festival of Trees! www.bgcworcester.org/trees $75/ ticket Worcester Area Mission Society 6 Institute Road Worcester, MA 01609 December 6 & December 7 Festival of Trees Decorated holiday trees/displays will be raffled off to benefit the Boys & Girls Club of Worcester! F O C U S UMMH has extended work-from- home options into more positions in departments such as talent acquisition, patient access, and finance. UMass Memorial is leaning into its Baylor positions, those roles where employees solely work a set amount of weekends and maintain part- or full- time employment with benefits. While Baylor positions were available in nurs- ing pre-pandemic, UMMH has expand- ed those roles into the fields of radiology, respiratory, and nursing support. While companies are working to adapt to the shiing wants of job seekers, others want to get more employees back into the office, said Jeffrey Turgeon, executive director of the MassHire Central Region Workforce Board in Worcester. Transparency ahead In July, Gov. Maura Healey signed into law salary range transparency leg- islation mandating employers with 25+ employees include pay ranges in their job descriptions, effective July 1, 2025. e new law will put pressure on companies to have competitive plans in place for applicants and current employ- ees, Pardo said. e change may mean less negotiation room for applicants. "It will kind of level the playing field. At least both parties will go into the dis- cussions on the same page," said Pardo. Job applicants want remote flexibility In April 2020 during the onslaught of the COVID-19 pandemic, the United States lost 20.5 million jobs, skyrocketing unemployment to 14.7%, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. During the next few years, reflecting a tight labor market, wages increased while the remote workforce more than tripled. Today, with some employers making a renewed push for employees to be back in the office, many current and potential employees still want the flexibility to work from home, along with other benefits. When polled online, the plurality of WBJ readers said the most common demand they hear from job candidates is the ability to work remotely or on a hybrid schedule. What is the most common demand you receive from job candidates when you are hiring? Higher-than-normal starting salaries 33% Ability to work remote or with a hybrid schedule 49% More flexible hours 10% 3% 5% Expanded healthcare benefits and/or higher company contribution to healthcare plans More paid time off Worcester Restaurant Group, which owns 111 Chop House, has fewer applicants looking for full-time, 40-hour work weeks. Instead, they prefer about 25 hours per week as they balance other aspects of their lives. W Email circulation@wbjournal.com for more information. WBJ Purchase a group subscription for your team or entire organization. Get access to WBJ for your entire team.

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