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10/9/05

Recruiting
Hub's high living costs turn off job prospects

Boston's distinction of being one of the nation's most expensive cities to live in is creating trouble for human resource professionals who say workers from other areas are reluctant to move here, a survey shows.

According to the survey conducted by the Northeast Human Resources Association, more than half — 52 percent — of the organization's 4,000 members who responded indicated they were having a difficult time luring well-qualified candidates to work in Boston because of the high cost of living.

In August, the median sales price of a single family home in Boston was $375,000, and the median of a condominium was $287,500.

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The original cost of living survey, conducted and reported on by the Boston Foundation and the Citizens' Housing and Planning Association, showed that an average Boston-area family would need at least $6,000 more per year than their counterparts in New York City, the next most expensive city on the list. Much of the severe uptick in living expenditures over previous years was because of dramatic increases in housing costs, which have recently continued to outpace both inflation and average wage increases throughout the Commonwealth, the survey said.

The survey also found that members have trouble finding recent college graduates to fill entry-level positions for companies in the area. A number of the respondents also noted that Boston's cost of living was accepted as ''status quo'' for workers moving from one company to another in Massachusetts, but the severe difference between Boston and other cities shocked, and many times kept away, out-of-state workers.

''The HR community has a stake in keeping a solid and qualified workforce in the Boston area and the issue of cost of living impacts this,'' said Laura Avakian, association president. ''The results of this survey illustrate the growing concern that high prices in this area will make it increasingly difficult for HR departments to provide their organizations with the best talent.''

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Energy prices
Some firms help to ease commuting costs

Recent surges in oil and gas prices following Hurricane Katrina also have some companies making changes to their policies to accommodate some workers' reluctance to make long commutes that are more expensive than they used to be.

While 62 percent of those surveyed indicated there were no plans to change any company policies in response to post-Katrina energy price spikes, others are implementing corporate programs to help employees cope with higher commuting costs.

Some employers are encouraging the use of carpooling, public transportation, allowing more employees to telecommute, and increasing their mileage reimbursement rate. Some personnel managers — about 30 percent — also said they expect to lose employees because of more expensive commutes.

Workplace
Men appear to put in longer day, on average

American men work almost a full hour more than women during an average day of work, according to a time use survey recently put out by the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The study, which solicited results from more than 14,000 American workers, showed that men worked an average of eight hours a day, compared with women, who averaged 7.2 hours.

Overall, workers spent more time working during the week than on weekends, according to the study, which asked participants to keep 24-hour logs on randomly selected days throughout a week. The average Monday through Friday workday lasted 7.9 hours, but on the weekend, that average significantly dropped to 5.8 hours.

Employees working in management, business or financial positions worked the most often, the survey reported. Time spent outside of work on family and other household obligations varied as well. ''Women, regardless of marital status, spent more time doing these activities than men,'' according to the report.

Married workers spent 2.1 hours daily doing ''household activities,'' while unmarried workers spent an average of only 1.4 hours taking care of personal business at home.

Women are taking on more child-care responsibilities as well, which may explain their shorter average workday, the survey showed.

Employers
Employers rehiring laid-off workers

In what may be another sign of an upturn in the nation's job market, more employers are rehiring workers they laid off during leaner times, according to Right Management Consultants, a career transition and organizational firm headquartered in Boston.

The firm surveyed 100 companies earlier this year which had downsized during recent turbulent economic times.

More than half of those companies — 54 percent — indicated they ''at least occasionally'' hire back employees who were eliminated during earlier cost-cutting measures. Of that 54 percent, most said they sometimes rehire former employees, a much smaller number (9 percent) said they regularly do so, and only 3 percent said the strategy was used often to fill vacancies or new positions.

''Companies' attitudes about rehiring former employees displaced by downsizings have gradually shifted over the years,'' said Chuck Mollor, regional vice president at Right Management. ''Organizations have become more aware of the true cost of bad hiring decisions, including having to re-advertise for and recruit candidates.''

Most employers — 52 percent — said they would hire back former employees because of their familiarity with the jobs. Other reasons to rehire laid-off workers include minimizing the risk of getting potential problem employees and making sure candidates are a good fit for the company.

Only 10 percent of employers said there were ''no good reasons at all to hire back displaced former employees,'' the report said.

The office
US budget office tops best place to work list

The nation's largest employer, the US government, has over 2 million people on its payroll, and the happiest of them are employed at the Office of Management and Budget, according to a survey.

This year's ''The Best Place to Work'' rankings, compiled by the Partnership for Public Service, researchers at American University and U.S. News & World Report, showed the federal government's most improved agency in worker
satisfaction is now also the best.

The National Science Foundation, Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Government Accountability Office, and Securities and Exchange Commission rounded out the top five.

The survey looked at responses from more than 150,000 federal workers and compared the results to past years'. The survey also looked at federal workplaces that particularly suited certain groups better than others.

Women found the Office of Management and Budget to be the most comfortable agency to work in, while young workers and blacks preferred the NRC.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., which guarantees consumers' bank deposits, offered the best pay and benefits packages, the survey showed.

Nathan Hurst can be reached at nhurst@globe.com

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