Did anyone see the style careers recent poll?
I was shocked to see the options for the following survey question
“How much consideration do you give to WORK LIFE benefits when evaluating an employer”
The options where 1) free snacks, 2) extended 3) team building
Really?
These are what people in the industry consider work life balance? In nyc only? I would think more people in this industry would demand
flexibility work schedules,
WFH,
better health wellness benefits like: gym discounts, more pto benefits for mental health regeneration, sabbaticals
Tuition benefits for expand skills sets
It’s so odd. Sometimes I think there’s some seriously old school NYC-based fashion industry perspective with the style careers platform. I’ve been in a different segment of the industry for 20 years now and those have never even been considerations. It’s pay, time off, work-life balance/WFH/flexible schedule, wellness benefits, tuition reimbursement, and maybe recognition for outstanding work–in that order.
Sometimes I see posts about the perks of a company, with things like “Free Coffee” and “Parking Included”. Really?? Is the bar so low that getting stale office coffee and a place to park (after you commute to and from) are considered “perks”???
It’s like those old motels that have a sign out front saying “Color TV”. Completely out of touch.
To be fair, this survey was taken before the pandemic. At the time, WFH was so scarce in the fashion industry that no one felt to mention it in the survey.
As for the other benefits, the survey/article covers Time Off, Wellness, Tuition, etc…
Would be great if style careers redid a few surveys 1) one from the point of view from employers and their thoughts on WFH/flex schedule for fashion employees, 2) benefits needs that candidates look for, 3) wfh/flex schedule needs of current fashion professional individuals
WOW!! Benefits at all? I’m shocked. I’ve never had one job that offered benefits in this industry. Well…literally ONE…and that was only a health insurance + 401K option. nothing more. I only had it for about 3 months and then I was fired.
Every job I’ve had has never offered benefits. I asked directly, and they gave me a firm “NO.”…and then offered me like $38k as their base when I was asking for $70k. Somehow they decided to settle on $45k…without benefits. Hardly worth it.
MEDICAL benefits - only been offered basic insurance (once) and only covering health. NOT dental, vision, life insurance, disabilities, or FSA/HSA. PAID TIME OFF benefits - Yes, but with consequences. These have been given to me as per NY State Laws (not because my employers have actually wanted to give this). AND my employers have always given me a hard time on this. Example: Even for 3 days where I was miserably sick from my co-worker who came in sick to the office the day before, apologizing to me saying this: “Sorry I’m feeling a little sick but I came in today anyway to work on the project. I hope you’re okay with that.” - Coworker, who was sick.
Result from this: I was out of the office for 3 full days after that… with a huge amount of consequences from my boss for taking a day off. I was in a hostile environment when I returned to work, for being sick and actually using my “sick days”. I was told very nasty things, with lots of attitude about how I should be more considerate of the company.
HEALTH & WELL BEING benefits - Never been offered this. EVER… EDUCATION benefits - None. Not allowed, and the company refused to pay for me to get additional training after I asked and provided reasons for how I could benefit the company from learning these skills, along with the costs, which were more/less $1,000…which is reasonable for what it was. I just couldn’t afford to pay out of pocket on a Near-Minimum-Wage salary. WORK LIFE benefits - these do not exist. Employers expect you to work extended hours without pay. Free meals or car service? ARE YOU KIDDING ME? Who wrote this?!? No job that I’ve been hired at in the fashion industry would even consider this. Maybe a car service to go pick up the boss’s lunch halfway across the city, but never for the safety of an employee to get home - after working extended hours/working late. WOW…
