Wonder

Research Outline

Prepared for Nina G. | Delivered September 10, 2019

Employee Choice and Utilization

Goals

To obtain background and statistics for a white paper, understand how allowing employees to choose what jobs they work on in the service industry will lead to higher utilization rates for employees.

Early Findings

A Gallup analysis published in 2015 found that employees who use their strengths at work "are three times more likely to report having an excellent quality of life, six times more likely to be engaged at work, 8% more productive and 15% less likely to quit their jobs."
Senior employees often have the most flexibility in their jobs because they can handle high level work but can also do lower level tasks to fill their time when necessary. Therefore, one utilization strategy that may improve outcomes is to give senior employees more flexibility in their schedule so they are available when higher level work comes up and so they can have a say in what jobs they do take on.
The 2018 Global Talent Trends study conducted by Mercer found that 84% of respondents stated that work flexibility was the most important factor in a job. Flexibility can involve when and where to work, but also considers what work needs to be, how to best do that work, and who does the work.
Employees are 4.6 times more likely to feel empowered to do their best at work id they feel their voice is being heard and considered at work.
Employee productivity can be increased by allowing employees to choose the tools they need to do their job.
A survey of employees on the outcomes of being able to use the device of their choice at work found that 68% of them believed it made them more productive, 37% said it made them more creative, and 35% stated collaboration was improved.
Task Completion Bias (TCB) is when employees choose to work on easier tasks rather than more difficult ones when given a chose. A study showed that while this improved short-term productivity, long-term productivity suffered. 