Attracting top talent requires more than simply describing job opportunities. Students preparing to enter the workforce are eager to learn about a company’s internal culture and how employees strike a balance between work and their personal lives.
A new college survey of 710 undergraduates finds that more than three-quarters (77%) report wanting to hear from recruiters about how their company promotes work-life balance, while 16% just want to hear about the job description and 8% are not sure. Female students are even more likely than male students to want to hear about work-life balance (81% vs. 71%).
“I want to hear that the company is aware the employees are human beings with families, and not simply products or sources of revenue,” a Central Michigan University student says.
8 in 10 Female Students Want to Hear About Work-Life Balance
Do you want recruiters to tell you how their company promotes work-life balance, or do you just want to hear about the job description?
Although students rank work-life balance as less important today than they did just a few months ago, a majority still say it’s very important. Two-thirds (66%) of students say it’s very important to them when looking for a job after graduation, down from 77% who said the same in September.
The problem remains that students think it’s difficult to evaluate a company’s culture from the outside. An overwhelming majority (93%) say it’s at least somewhat difficult to evaluate a company’s culture before working there. At the same time, almost one-third (32%) of students say it’s not possible to achieve work-life balance if your boss doesn’t care about it, compared to 37% who say it is possible and 31% who are not sure. Students of color are more likely than white students to say it’s not possible (39% vs. 27%), making it more important for them to get a feel for the culture during the interview process.
“I want them to prove it,” a Colorado State University student says. “What is the median amount employees took off for vacation? Median hours employees in my department work a week?”
Roughly 8 in 10 students believe flexible work hours (83%) and encouraging employees to take time off (82%) are good signs that a company promotes work-life balance. A majority (57%) of students also rate flexible work hours as one of the most important signs that a company promotes work-life balance, followed by encouraging employees to take time off (51%).
Flexible Work Hours are Most Important to Students
Which of the following do you think are the most important signs that a company promotes work-life balance? Please select up to two.
However, students of color are less likely than white students to say encouraging time off is most important to them (44% vs. 57%). And female students are more likely than male students to value mental health resources provided by a company as a good sign of work-life balance (74% vs. 58%).
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Methodology: This survey was designed and conducted by College Pulse. Interviews were conducted in January among a sample of 710 full-time and part-time students attending colleges or universities in the U.S. who are part of College Pulse’s American College Student Panel.
