I saw an interesting piece on VentureBeat recently that talked about “the great resignation.” Faced with the hardships of the past couple of years - you know, the whole nearly dying for your paycheck thing, a lot of people are just quitting. Anyway, that’s the common conception, though the piece (written by the co-founder and CEO of a company called Equitybee) argues that that is not the case. People aren’t quitting because they’re sick of work. They’re quitting because they don’t feel valued by their employers or organizations.
It’s an idea that might strike past generations as frivolous. Then again, past generations had retirement plans and gold watches after 25-years with the company. It’s not that every company has stopped valuing its employees, but it certainly feels to many employees that they’re not valued or undervalued. Quick aside: At a friend’s year-end review, they said they felt that the company did not value their work. The manager suggested that this person, who spent a lot of 2021 putting in 45 to 55 hours a week, work more overtime. Without quitting, my friend is actively seeking other employment - part of what the VentureBeat piece calls, not “the great resignation,” but “the great reprioritization.”
Apple Retail is apparently hip to that, and either wants to be the place people land or wants to keep them from flying. A piece from Bloomberg (via Yahoo Finance) says:
Apple Inc. plans to significantly increase its benefits for U.S. retail store workers as it grapples with a tightening labor market and the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, according to people with knowledge of the matter.
According to the piece, changes taking effect beginning Monday 4 April include:
Doubling paid sick days for both full-time and part-time workers. The days can be used for mental health leave and taking family members to the doctor. This change will give full-time workers 12 paid sick days, instead of six.
Workers will receive more annual vacation days, beginning at three years of employment instead of five.
Part-time employees will now get as many as six paid vacation days for the first time. Another first: They’ll get paid parental leave. That benefit will cover up to six weeks and will include the ability to gradually ramp up work time for the first four weeks back.
Part-time workers also will get access to discounted emergency backup care for children or elderly family members.
While Bloomberg initially heard the news from secret folks said to know something about something, the changes have been confirmed by Apple.
