Date published: 01.09.08 - not release date

Hays Social Housing reveal what employees want

A new survey by specialist recruitment consultancy, Hays Social Housing, has revealed that over 80% of social housing professionals consider a minimum of 25 days annual leave to be the most important benefit offered by an employer. The latest survey shows that salary is not the only essential factor that many social housing employees take into consideration when offered a new job.

One of the most surprising results of the survey was that 74% of respondents considered the option of flexible working to be very important when considering jobs in housing, making it the second most popular benefit overall and rating it above a company pension and paid overtime. Flexible working has become increasingly popular over recent years, particularly for employees with a long commute or caring responsibilities outside of work. Interestingly, 77% of respondents stated that their current role offered an element of flexible working, suggesting that employers are increasingly accepting the need for a change to traditional 9-5 workplace routines. The lowest ranking benefits on the survey were gym membership, share incentives and subsidised crèche.

Richard Gelder, Director of Hays Social Housing, commented: "Employers in the social housing sector are increasingly becoming aware of the importance of offering an attractive benefits package in order to attract and retain the best calibre workers. Striking a good work-life balance is very important to many workers, and benefits that offer employees an element of flexibility in the workplace are becoming more common. When considering a new role, it is vital to take the benefits offered into account, along with salary, as our survey reveals that they can have a strong influence on overall job satisfaction."

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About Hays Social Housing
Hays Social Housing is part of Construction & Property - the UK's largest specialist recruitment consultancy to the built environment. Formed in 1958, Hays Construction & Property has over 80 offices throughout the UK and Ireland, as well as locations in Europe, Australia, New Zealand and Canada. With a support network of over 700 local consultants, Hays Construction & Property places candidates in permanent and temporary positions for 100's of private and public sector organisations.

Hays Construction & Property is a subdivision of Hays Plc, the FTSE 250 Company which employs 7,753 staff who operate from 376 offices, in 27 countries and across 17 specialisms, from call centre jobs to insurance and energy jobs. Hays Plc placed circa 68,000 candidates into permanent jobs and paid circa 46,000 temporary workers weekly during the year ending 30 June 07.

For further press information please contact:
Katy Tapp
Marketing Communications Assistant
Hays Social Housing
Charter House
13-15 Carteret Street
London
SW1H 9DJ
020 7222 6543
www.hays.com/socialhousing/