Making the Most of a Slow Economy
With the economy the way it is, I’ve found that from time to time, members of our staff have a little extra time on their hands. This is due in part to the fact that business is just a bit slower right now than it would normally be, and partly to the usual first quarter lull in the promotional products business. But whatever the cause, the reality is that not everyone is as busy as usual – and not just in our industry.
Maybe I’m an eternal optimist, but I don’t think the solution is to lay people off. I’m pretty sure that things are going to pick up and when they do, we need to be ready. In the meantime, I think we all need to look for ways – as my grandmother used to say – to “turn a sow’s ear into a silk purse.”
Today I found my silk purse. This rainy Friday marks the official start of Quintain Marketing’s program to promote paid time off for our employees to do volunteer work, and this afternoon, one of our staff will be going to the local public elementary school to teach an art class as part of the after school program.
Paid time off for volunteering is a great way to get more out of an underutilized workforce, but it also makes good business sense even in a strong economy. According to the 2007 Volunteer IMPACT Survey published by Deloitte & Touche, approximately 62% of workers 18 to 26 years old would prefer to work for a company that provides opportunities for them to apply their skills to benefit nonprofit organizations.
Not only do paid volunteer opportunities increase employees’ job satisfaction, there are other benefits including:
- Stronger job skills: Volunteer work can contribute to employee skill development and improve leadership skills. Aetna, Inc. in Connecticut, helps employees strengthen their skills in particular areas by matching them with complimentary volunteer opportunities via the company’s human resource portal’s talent management system.
- Company loyalty: Employees whose companies offer paid time off for volunteering feel proud of their employers. And this feeling of pride can come from as little as one paid day off a quarter, or as much as a year long sabbatical. In 2007, Aon Corp. celebrated its 20th anniversary by giving all of its 40,000 employees across the globe one day off with pay to “give back” to their respective communities.
- Healthier employees: According to Stephen Post, a professor of bioethics at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine in Cleveland, volunteers have lower heart disease and mortality rates and less stress and depression than nonvolunteers.
Companies like Xerox have known about the benefits of paid volunteer time for years. They started their paid time off volunteer program in 1971 and it is one of the oldest such programs in the country. More and more companies are following Xerox’s lead, and as they do, determining how employees’ responsibilities will be managed while they are away is a decision that either the employee or their supervisor – or some combination of both – must make.
But for now, particularly if you have employees that have extra time in their daily – or weekly, or monthly, or quarterly – schedule, paid volunteer time seems like a great way to make the most of a slow business cycle while at the same time offering employees an important benefit AND giving back to the community in which you live and work. In other words – everyone wins!