What perks do you want? Half-day Fridays and blue jeans

WASHINGTON — An end-of -the-year CareerBuilder survey says 22 percent of gainfully-employed Americans are planning to change jobs in 2017, and the list of perks job seekers are looking for looks nothing like it might have a decade ago.

When asked what extra perks would make them more willing to join or stay with a company, the No. 1 answer was “half-day Fridays,” cited by 40 percent of survey respondents.

Other top on-the-job perks cited in the survey:

  • On-site fitness center, 27 percent.
  • Being able to wear blue jeans, 23 percent
  • Daily catered lunches, 22 percent
  • My own office, 22 percent.

“To keep your workers, you need to keep a pulse on what they’re seeking,” says CareerBuilder Human Resources Officer Rosemary Haefner. “For example, poll your employees from time to time to learn more about their goals and motivations and how they want to be treated.”

While CareerBuilder did not assign age groups to the most-desired list of perks, younger workers are the ones who are more likely to be looking around.

Its survey says among workers in the 18- to 34-year-old demographic, 35 percent expect to change jobs in 2017, compared to 15 percent of workers ages 35 and older.

And even if changing jobs is not number one on next year’s resolutions list, many are always looking around.

The national survey, conducted by Harris Poll with more than 3,400 workers across industries, found 35 percent of workers are regularly searching for new job opportunities, even though they are currently employed.

Jeff Clabaugh

Jeff Clabaugh has spent 20 years covering the Washington region's economy and financial markets for WTOP as part of a partnership with the Washington Business Journal, and officially joined the WTOP newsroom staff in January 2016.

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