The Covid pandemic had a big impact on many aspects of working life, not least of which was the demands placed on employers by the workforce. Research from ESMT Berlin highlights some of these changing demands, including for things like flexible working.

The study quizzes students at one of the Global Network for Advanced Management (GNAM) business schools, which are a global network of 32 business schools that were founded by the Yale School of Management a decade ago. The analysis identified five key factors people look at when considering a potential employer:

• Salary: The proposed salary must be equal or great than the industry average.
• Type of contract: The position should be permanent.
• Remote work: Employees must be allowed to work remotely.
• Company reputation: The reputation of the company is also decisive, especially regarding sustainability and social responsibility.
• Status: The position the employee has within the company.

“With the global pandemic, employees have re-evaluated their employer. Work-life balance, flexibility, and corporate purpose have come into particular focus since then, but monetary acknowledgement and stability are still decisive” the author explains. “These changes in workforce mindset are highly relevant for employers for attracting and retaining new talent.”

Results showed significant differences in gender, culture, and professional background. Comparing the relevance of attributes among men and women, men rate traditional attributes such as salary, type of contract, and status higher than women. Women, on the other hand, focus more on new work attributes such as remote work and purpose. Despite a globalized world, culture still influences the expectations employees have of their employer. Respondents from Western countries ranked new-work attributes as more important than respondents from Asian countries.

“The results of the study clearly show that companies need to be aware of their own offerings and values if they want to attract new talent and retain existing talent,” the researchers conclude. “The differences in the results in terms of gender and origin are also particularly fascinating: companies have to differentiate between target applicants in order to be successful.”