While I don’t hang out at fancy, schmancy restaurants, I am aware of the Prix Fixe menus at these nose sniffing places.
The chef determines they know what is best for a meal and I, as a diner, will take whatever they serve.
I had enough of that as a child. Meals my parents made for me were all Prix Fixe – one set of food items without any choice.
One of the benefits of adulthood is to make choices – it also can be a blessing and a curse. Sometimes I don’t want to make choices!
When I go out to a restaurant and spend my hard earned money, I want a choice of what I poke down my gullet.
Companies have the same Prix Fixe approach to employment.
Each employee gets the same benefits and conditions of employment regardless of their skills, experience, and interests.
Some employees want more money and are willing to forego some benefits will work longer hours.
Some employees want to catch their children’s soccer games and have longer vacations.
Some don’t need any benefits at all.
Before the entire Human Resources department rises and smites me, I do understand this type of variable employment is fraught is huge problems.
I do realize that it takes a tremendous amount of effort to create a standard set of working conditions.
HR has to meet the business requirements and financial goals.
They are also constrained by a horrific slew of national, state, and local laws, HR options are limited.
One of the toughest over-arching goals of the laws is to teat each employee the same.
Yet, we hire people who are individuals and not robots. Making their employment conditions exactly the same is ignoring the needs and interest of each employee.
In large corporations with hundreds of thousands of employees, individualizing the employment contract and making sure all employees are being treated equally can be daunting.
However, the variable conditions of employment are being implemented now as each layer of employee (beginner thru CEO) have different benefits and requirements.
Take these different scenarios:
- A disabled employee who cannot drive but can work remotely from their home
- An employee who wants to maximize vacation time
- A parent who wants to work from home when their child is ill
- A single person who desperately needs money and is will to work long hours and will give up some or all vacation time in exchange for more money (they don’t take vacation time but will get paid for it in addition to getting paid for the additional hours at work).
- An employee who wants to work in a single office by themselves so they can be isolated and away from the noise of the office environment.
- An employee gets health insurance through their spouse or VA and don’t need health benefits but do want the financial equivalent of what the company would pay for the insurance.
- An employee that wants extensive training on new technologies, procedures, or management training.
- An employee that is nearing the end of their career and has fantastic experience and wants to cut back on their work schedule – like dropping down to working 4 days a week with a drop in pay.
- An employee that wants to work 4-10 hour shifts rather than 5 days a week.
On and on it goes.
The company that can adapt their employment conditions to meet the needs (as best they can) of their employees will be incredibly successful.
Constant turnover is not good for the bottom line (an obvious point but why do so many companies ignore that!).