A four-day workweek is becoming more popular recently despite the long-standing standard of a 40-hour workday. There are benefits & drawbacks to consider before switching to an extra day off each week, even though it may seem like a dream come true. In this article, we'll dig into the four-day workweek and consider if Reno, Nevada firms and employees would find it to be a viable choice.
The concept has gained popularity in recent years, with companies in various industries around the world adopting this work arrangement. Increased productivity, work-life balance, & job happiness are just a few advantages of a four-day workweek. If employees had an extra day off to recover, indulge in hobbies, or spend time with loved ones, they would be happier & more content with their jobs overall. Employee productivity also rises since they are more likely to show up to work feeling relaxed and rested.
The four-day workweek also benefits companies in terms of reduced overhead costs, such as electricity and heating, and lower rental costs. A four-day workweek also helps businesses in competitive job markets attract and keep top talent, which boosts employee morale and job satisfaction.
The four-day workweek can be a good choice for companies in Reno, Nevada, especially in labor-intensive sectors like healthcare, education, & manufacturing. Making the switch to a four-day workweek requires careful consideration of the specific needs of each firm & its employees. Some businesses may find that a four-day workweek is not suitable for their industry or may require additional staff to ensure adequate coverage.
A four-day workweek may also result in fewer absences and greater employee wellness in general. According to studies, working less hours can improve physical & emotional well-being, reduce stress, and even cut blood pressure and headache frequency. This can therefore result in a happier workplace atmosphere and more productivity.
Another advantage is that it might result in cost savings for the business. Businesses might reduce their need for office space and save money on costs like energy and utilities by working one less day. For startups or small firms wanting to cut costs, this might be especially helpful.
However, implementing a four-day workweek requires careful consideration and planning. Employers must ensure that workload and productivity remain high, even with one less day of work. It may require adjusting work schedules, redistributing tasks, and potentially hiring additional staff to maintain productivity levels.
Businesses can take specific actions to ensure a smooth transition into a four-day workweek. First, it is important to communicate the changes with employees and gather their feedback to address any concerns or challenges. Additionally, businesses can implement flexible scheduling options, such as staggered shifts, to accommodate different employee needs and schedules.
Jobs in several sectors, such as healthcare, education, & manufacturing, in Reno, Nevada, may benefit from a four-day workweek. By offering this work arrangement, businesses can improve employee satisfaction, reduce overhead costs, and attract and retain top talent in a competitive job market. A four-day workweek can be a practical alternative for businesses and employees in Reno, Nevada, with the right preparation and communication.
Get your business up to date on the newest trends by beginning your journey with The Applied Companies today!
About The Applied Companies®:
The Applied Companies® strives to collaborate with employers looking to grow their workforce with professional, reliable, and ambitious individuals. The goal at TAC is simple: we want to help alleviate the stress of looking for a job as well, and make sure that our candidates are compatible with a role that’s right for them. For over 20 years, TAC has been an active member of the business community. With a Northern Nevada focus and national expertise in temp and direct hire, recruitment, executive search, human resources, PEO, and payroll administration, TAC provides businesses with solutions that are right for their organization.
As for working with job seekers, now is the right time to find employment with your local employment agency. We’re sharing some tried and true tips when it comes to finding your dream job and acing an interview:
You’ve wowed a company with your impressive cover letter and resume, so naturally the next step is either an in-person or phone interview.
First, a friend, family member or partner can help you practice through a mock interview and can be a great starting point to your job interview prep. This gives you a chance to receive feedback on your answers, posture, appearance, and nonverbal communication. Even paying attention to your handshake can make a subtle difference!
Another suggestion to gain confidence for the interview is to research the company and the individual(s) interviewing you. Learning about their roles and personal interests through their LinkedIn profile or through the company’s website allows you to mention highlights during the interview to give you common ground while standing out.
Print out extra copies of your resume so the interviewers can have a physical copy to keep referring back to. Make sure to bring a pen and professional notebook, in addition to your A-game: after all, people tend to hire other people with a positive and upbeat personality!
If you dress to impress, you’ll make a great first impression. We suggest choosing an outfit that is a step above the office standard to show professionalism, and conservative business attire is appropriate for every setting.
Above all, make sure to get a great amount of sleep and properly fuel up on the day of. Stick to healthy foods for breakfast or lunch, and hydrate throughout the day to prevent a dry throat when speaking.
Providing a portfolio and letting the interviewer take a look at previous projects can make a great first impression. Stick to asking questions about the job responsibilities, qualifications, or other key details about the position. This is also a great time to learn more about the culture of the company or the department, and what the structure looks like. Remember, this is also your chance to interview the company and see if this is a good fit for you and your values.
If an interviewer asks about any of your strengths and weaknesses, it’s sometimes hard to come up with an answer at the moment. Being honest and self-aware of any issues is a great start, but combining it with an action plan lets you stand apart from other candidates. On the contrary, finding a few traits that you tend to utilize in your work is important. Are you a problem solver or more numbers driven when it comes to tackling tasks? Is time management something you are really good at, too? If so, explain these traits and how you do in specific situations with them as a way to wow the interviewer.
Lastly, consider why you want to work for a place and what about the role is most appealing for you. Out of all the companies hiring, why did you choose this one? Hearing about why you specifically chose them can really score some bonus points with the interviewer.
After an interview, it’s important to elevate yourself as a candidate by keeping your name fresh in the company’s mind. It shows that you are eager for the role, especially if it’s a competitive field.
At the end of the interview, make sure to get the contact information of the hiring manager and ask questions that will give you a time frame for the decision making. Questions like “How many days will you need to make a decision?” Or “Will there be a second interview?” can help. Send any supporting documents like a page of references, written assessments, or background check approval.
Sending a thank you email is a fantastic way to stand out. Doing so will demonstrate your interest in the job, and showing appreciation is a good look during the search process.
It’s typically better for an interviewer to bring up the topic of salary and benefits, and always try to end on a positive note. Other questions not to ask include wanting to know about promotions and reviews. Any questions that beg “What’s in it for me?”, be it for hours, benefits, salary or growth, will be answered within the process and not on an initial interview. Many people interviewing for jobs must keep in mind that an offer doesn’t always come from the first step.
Lastly, interviewers often ask questions that ask you to share situations that you found difficult at previous positions. This helps them understand how you might respond in similar situations at this workplace, so prepare by reflecting on a few scenarios ahead of time.
For many people in Reno and Sparks, they took time to reassess their careers during the pandemic. Here at TAC, we saw this first hand as our trained professionals learned more about the workforce, search recruitment, and professional employer organizations as well.
We truly enjoy helping top-level candidates find the right position, the right culture, and the right company to thrive in.
Connect With Our Employment Agency in Reno
There are several other factors that contribute to the current state of the workforce and the high unemployment rate. These include elements such as extended unemployment insurance (UI) benefits, a reshuffle of the workforce, childcare and school disruptions, and foreign workers’ inability to come to the U.S. for jobs.
State-provided unemployment insurance (UI) benefits and pandemic unemployment assistance (PUA) were used to support those in need throughout the pandemic. The rate of $300 per week for 46 weeks made it easy for Americans to continue making roughly $17.50 an hour for almost an entire year from the comfort of their home. Because of this, there was little motivation for prospective employees to job hunt.
The recent significant changes in the workforce have been labeled as the “Great Resignation” as we’ve seen millions of Americans quit their jobs. Since the Great Resignation, many people have decided to change job or career paths and have jumped back into re-education. College enrollments across the U.S. increased for the Fall 2021 semester and people are looking to switch into new fields and careers.
Many individuals who left their customer service jobs at the beginning of COVID-19 chose to leave service for good in order to pursue employment in warehouse and distribution facilities, for example. Customer service jobs are in high demand as a result of this.
Another factor that significantly affected the current state of our workforce was parents’ ability to provide adequate childcare for their children who were no longer able to attend school in person. Most states kept public and private schools shut until the Fall of 2021. Due to this, many parents were required to be home with their children. Parents turned into teachers and more than 1.8 million women left the workforce entirely.
Foreign workers account for a large amount of job retention in the United States, but they were, unfortunately, unable to transfer into the states due to COVID health mandates. This left several industries including farming, hospitality, and ski resorts to be understaffed and at a disadvantage.
Given the current unemployment rate and the factors involved in what makes up today’s labor force, it’s evident that the state of our workforce is taking a major turn. Employers everywhere are having difficulties hiring and retaining quality employees which are putting several industries and businesses at risk of failing.
There are, however, resources at an organization’s disposal to help. An experienced PEO or staffing and recruiting company can help business owners and hiring managers find valuable candidates to fill their unoccupied job roles.
Working with a professional workforce administration company, like The Applied Companies, can help set your company up for success. TAC has been part of the Reno community since 2002 and prides itself on thoughtful solutions and authentic relationships.
Our Reno staffing solutions help employers in need of a professional, reliable, and ambitious workforce. We work to provide you with quality candidates to help you grow your business and decrease turnover to save you time and money. Connect with us today for help growing your team.
As mentioned in our first post on this topic, it’s evident that the American workforce looks quite different today than it did just 18 months ago. Employee behaviors, service impacts, and corporate economic difficulties are highly relevant when assessing the current state of the workforce.
Some of the most significant changes in the workforce have to do with employee behaviors. Predominantly, employees are seeking higher wages, better benefit packages, flexible hours, remote work opportunities, and child care accommodations.
The current Labor Force Participation Rate, which measures the economy’s active workforce, sits at 61.7 percent. This is 1.6 percent lower than the recorded rate in February 2020. Though this number has been declining for the past 20 years, the pandemic set off a surge of Americans choosing unemployment insurance over working full-time.
Another statistic to keep an eye on is the quits rate. The rate is also high, currently at 2.7 percent, and is driven by employees that voluntarily leave their positions. Roughly 52-90 percent of employees plan to job search and the employees who quit have a high sense of confidence that they will find new employment.
It was also recorded that a shocking amount of American workers between the ages of 57 and 75 decided to retire in 2020. Historically, the average is 3 million workers each year, but in 2020, there were an additional 3.2 million who decided to stop working.
There are approximately 10.9 million job openings currently in the U.S., and the supply chain is being seriously impacted as a result. If you’ve visited a restaurant recently and experienced long wait times or poor service, then you’ve seen first-hand how the workforce is being affected. The lack of employee retention in restaurants has led to reduced hours of operation, limited menu items, and unavailability of reservations. Several local restaurants and conglomerate franchises have been affected, meaning restaurants on a small and large scale are at risk.
The travel industry has also been significantly affected by the shift in the workforce. Travelers have been experiencing long wait lines due to a lack of TSA screeners, putting a great deal of strain on airport visitors. The hospitality industry is also suffering due to a lack of staffing. Hotel rooms aren’t being as well-kept because there are not enough employees to complete daily room cleaning. The same can be said of several other industries as well including retail and transportation.
Because of the high unemployment rate, employers are beginning to see changes in their economic values. The wage pressures that corporations are experiencing are calling for higher starting wages for entry or mid-level skillsets. A majority of employees are looking for starting wages of $20/hour or more with no background or drug screening. This puts employers at a disadvantage, especially when you consider the high costs of employee turnover which is already at an all-time high.
Not only are companies faced with having to pay higher wages for employee retention, but many are also having to reduce the number of sales they make to accommodate for fulfillment deficiencies.
Working with a professional workforce administration company, like The Applied Companies, can help set your company up for success. TAC has been part of the Reno community since 2002 and prides itself on thoughtful solutions and authentic relationships.
Our Reno staffing solutions help employers in need of a professional, reliable, and ambitious workforce. We work to provide you with quality candidates to help you grow your business and decrease turnover to save you time and money. Connect with us today for help growing your team.
As many American business owners and employers are aware, the state of our workforce has changed rapidly since the start of the pandemic. Unfortunately, many people were forced out of their positions to limit the spread of COVID-19, putting several industries out of work for some time. Occupations involving face-to-face customer service became obsolete for a majority of the quarantine lockdown, causing millions to file for unemployment.
Today, these job positions are coming back into demand, but our workforce has significantly changed post-lockdown, leaving most of these job openings unfulfilled. To fully understand the current state of the workforce, we need to analyze the Nevada unemployment rate and assess some of the obstacles faced by employees and employers.
With that in mind, the TAC team wanted to take a deeper look at what is affecting the changes in the workforce and what your company can do to better understand and be prepared for these changes. We will first be analyzing the state of Nevada unemployment rate versus that national data and then dive deeper into what your company can do to stay ahead of the game.
In April 2020, the national unemployment rate skyrocketed to over 14 percent, the highest its been since the Great Depression. The current state of the workforce has improved some over the last year and a half, but the numbers are still relatively high. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the national unemployment rate was at 4.8 percent in September 2021.
In comparison, Nevada’s unemployment rate was and continues to be recorded as the highest in the nation. In April 2020, Nevada’s unemployment rate was a staggering 28.2 percent, which was double the national average. Since then, the rate has dropped significantly, but Nevada’s current unemployment rate remains above 7 percent. We should acknowledge these rates are driven largely by Southern NV. The unemployment rate as of September in Reno is 3.5% which is back to pre-pandemic levels.
With the numbers continuing to decline, we are seeing some improvements in the workforce. However, these statistics aren’t the only aspect of the workforce that has changed.
To understand what this all means for your organization, working with a professional workforce administration company, like The Applied Companies, can help set your company up for success. TAC has been part of the Reno community since 2002 and prides itself on thoughtful solutions and authentic relationships.
Our Reno staffing solutions help employers in need of a professional, reliable, and ambitious workforce. We work to provide you with quality candidates to help you grow your business and decrease turnover to save you time and money. Connect with us today for help growing your team.
Spring cleaning isn’t just something you do at home. It’s also a great idea at work. Investing the time to keep your workspace clean goes a long way! An organized workspace helps you get organized, creates a safe work environment and increases productivity.
Maintaining a clean workspace on the job might seem like a large endeavor, but with regular attention, it doesn’t have to be. How can you invest your time to create an organized, efficient workspace around you?
Can you believe how far we are from New Year’s already? Are you still sticking to the career and personal resolutions you made when 2019 was still new and shiny?
You may not be. For 80 percent of people reading this post, you’ve fallen off track from your resolutions already. New resolutions are hard, because they require you to modify your behavior. They may require you to get out of your comfort zone. New traditions and practices might involve unfamiliar or uncomfortable behavior, and those habits take a long time to stick.
But resolutions have the power to change your life for the better as well. If you made a personal resolution, not sticking with it means you’re still in the same place a year from now. If you made a career resolution to find a better-paying job and break that resolution, you’ll be stuck in the same spot too.
So how do you make sure you keep resolutions? Here’s how.
The United States Government was recently locked in the longest shutdown in our country’s history, with wide-ranging consequences. While this development had negative effects on government agencies, services and the economy as a whole, hundreds of thousands of federal employees across the country are feeling the pain personally.
If you were living paycheck to paycheck during the shutdown, you may now be struggling to make ends meet or even put food on the table. In the event of another government shutdown, what can furloughed federal employees do to avoid financial issues?
Throughout the United States, unemployment is at record lows. The unemployment rate nationally stands at 3.7 percent, the lowest it has been in decades – and in Reno, unemployment is even lower than the national average at 3.5 percent.
With record-low unemployment in Reno, businesses are hard-pressed to find qualified candidates. If you’re thinking about finding better jobs in Reno, now is a great time to do so! Employers are eager to find high quality candidates.
If you’re looking for jobs in Reno or throughout Northern Nevada in the new year, here are four tips on how to get ready for the job search.
It can be tough to look for a job when you’re very busy. If you’re already working long days, you might not have time at the end of the day to find the new job you need. The very idea of tailoring resumes and spending hours searching job postings can get pushed down the list of priorities.
A Reno NV job recruiters can help you find the right jobs that fit your goals and needs when you don't have the time to job search. Check out these four tips for maximizing your time and finding your next opportunity as easily as possible.
One of the most common interview questions is “tell me about yourself.” In fact, the vast majority of interviews start with the exact same question.
Starting off the interview with a very open-ended question is popular with many interviewers. It can’t be answered with a yes or no, so it yields more information and helps the interviewee open up. More importantly, though, what a person chooses to answer with can be very revealing of their personality and how they think. It’s therefore more likely to give interviewers multiple layers of information.
How can you prepare a great answer and start your interview on a high note? Here’s are some tips to make you shine in the interview.
The winter holidays are a great time to check out activities for the whole family. Nevada is full of special wintertime fun for all ages and all interests. Here are seven of our team’s top holiday activities around the Reno area and across northern Nevada!
Fax: (775) 853-5466
HOURS OF OPERATION
Monday - Friday:
8:00 AM - Noon | 1:00 PM - 5:00 PM
Saturday - Sunday:
CLOSED
