In today's healthy job market, attracting talent is easier said than done. It therefore pays to be aware of the factors that drive candidates to reject job offers.
When we think about the reasons jobs are declined, it's easy to point to low salaries and limited career growth. But 73% of candidates say they'd turn down a job offer due to one pressing matter: inadequate vacation time. That's the latest from LinkedIn, which also found that 76% of job applicants rank a company's vacation policy as "important" or "extremely important."
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If your company has been struggling to fill open roles, it may be time to revisit your vacation policy -- and find ways to improve it.
Workers need time off
Vacation days aren't just about lounging on the beach or sightseeing; they're about getting a full-fledged mental break from the usual grind. It's no secret that many workers fall victim to burnout, and having time away from the office gives them a chance to really decompress.
If your vacation policy isn't as generous as it could be, you can start by simply offering employees additional days off. But be sure to distinguish between vacation days, personal days, and sick days. Some companies lob all three into a single limited bucket, but that's hardly fair to employees. After all, spending the day at home with the flu is very different from taking a day off to explore a new city, so be sure to offer ample time for your workers to take vacation days in the classic sense, but also to take care of personal matters as well as their health.
Additionally, if you're really looking for an edge on the recruiting side, it pays to consider rolling out an unlimited vacation policy. LinkedIn reports that only 5% of working professionals work at a company that offers limitless vacation. And if you're worried that doing so will lead to excessive employee absences, fear not -- among workers with unlimited vacation, 57% say they take the exact same number of days off as they did prior to having that policy implemented. In fact, you may even find that employees take less time off, not more, with an unlimited vacation policy. But from a mental perspective, they'll feel good about the fact that the option to take time off as needed exists for them.
There's no getting around it: A solid vacation policy is a crucial part of attracting job candidates. Not only that, but an improved policy on your part could lead to better employee retention, thereby minimizing the need for you to spend time, money, and energy on recruiting and onboarding. But don't just offer vacation time -- encourage workers to actually use it, and offer in-house support to make that happen. An estimated 46% of workers with traditional time off policies don't use all of their allotted vacation days, so if your employees are struggling to escape the office, step in and help make those much-needed breaks possible.
