Employers survive by being flexible

excerpted from New York Mills Herald, 6-5-08

Recent research from the University of Minnesota and other land grant universities across the U.S. has found that salary is not what is most valued by low-income, rural women when they are looking for jobs. Instead, they want a job that is flexible with their time schedules, and understanding with issues of transportation and childcare.

By increasing flexibility in the workplace, employers would be able to attract and retain more workers. Decreasing turnover means that employees have more time to learn the skills necessary to become proficient. Increasing felxibility can be as easy as allowing job sharaing, flex-time, part-time employment or home-based employment.

Read entire research brief.

For more information about the Rural Families Speak project visit the U of M Rural Families website at http://www.ruralfamilies.umn.edu/.