I don’t know how many times I have talked to employees who have this burning desire to have their own business. It can be anything from a being a home builder to a owning a coffee shop.
They daydream how great it would be to work for themselves and how they would be able to control their day.
The lure of self-employment is work freedom and money. Being in control of their day is a huge issue. They don’t want to be at the beck and call of a boss and they wanteto live their own life their own way.
Think about it…the desire for freedom is so great that they are willing to go to the extreme work of running their own business. This could mean working twice as hard as being an employee at some big corporation! Unreal!
Corporations Can Benefit From This Desire
Once we understand the lure of being a business owner, this should give corporations ideas on how they can attract great workers.
Examine the need for work schedule freedom and there are so many options. When work is based on results not effort, then the employee can determine their own schedule and when they want to get work done. If a corporation wants 40 hours per week, they will need to prescribe the official start and end times regardless of how much gets produced and you will get workers that just give what is needed to be sucessful.
Working to give the employee similar freedom as a small business owner will bring great rewards!
Giving to the community
If you give an employee freedom in their schedules, that would encourage them to give to the community. How about an employee who wants to deliver meals to seniors at lunch time? What about helping with an after school program in the community? If you give employees freedom in their schedule, they will get out and help the community.
Freedom Brings Great Benefits for a Business
Giving employees a great deal of freedom can be a great boon for the company. The employees will be happier that they are being trusted. They will treat customers better, they will speak highly of the company, and you will get long-term employees.
Breaking the Lure of Self Employment
I truly believe that most people who desire self-employment really don’t want it. They don’t consider the effort to handle the hiring process, licenses, legal documents, accounting, sales, and the many thousands of activities required to be self-employed. Even if there are no employees, there is still a significant amount of extra activities required due to the independent business requirements.
Companies can provide the flexibility and reward of self-employment while giving the employee the security and ability to focus on the work they love. It is going to require significant thinking and vision but any company that figures it out will be well rewarded.
Freedom and Cash
It is important to get to the bottom of what employees want. With any large group of employees, there will be a diverse desire for work benefits.
However, in my discussions with hundreds of employees over the last 30 years, there are two key desires of work: 1) Money and 2) Freedom
In the early years of an employee’s career, they are either single or newly married and just want money. Usually, they are just getting by and willing to work hard. Working nights and weekends usually is not a burden if there is a financial reward. That does not mean a hoped for potential at the end of the year for a performance bonus based on many factors that the employee cannot control. But, a method of earning money where they see something in upcoming paychecks will give them a great incentive.
As the employee gets older, they start to focus on schedule flexibility rather than money. For example, asking an employee to work a weekend for a small amount extra in the paycheck will not be attractive. They might have sports events for their children to attend or a family event. Being able to get off in the afternoon to take children to a doctor appointment or work at home while taking care of a child that is ill is a huge benefit.
Outside of cash and work freedom, health coverage is the only benefit that is highly, highly desired! Discount tickets to movie theaters, assistance with buying houses, catered lunches at the office, Foosball tables, onsite gyms, and other benefits are rarely appreciated. All I have heard is “give me the cash.”
Top Performers
If you want top performers in your company, hire the driven people who want to be self-employed and give them the same basic benefits and options of self-employment. You will be shocked at the top performance you get out of your workforce.