Survey: How do employees feel about 2020 labor law impacts?

The onslaught of new labor laws in 2020—including predictive scheduling, paid leave, minimum wage, sexual harassment training, overtime, and employee classification changes—brings many changes for employees. But which regulations do those employees feel would impact them the most? 

Since the common goal for the new labor laws this year is to improve the lifestyle of the hourly worker, we got curious about what exactly employees care about the most. We surveyed more than 750 employees around the US. Their feedback gives us a look at what changes they believe would improve their lives. 

Let’s break down the results. 

Insight #1: Employees want more money. 

It’s no secret that money is the main motivation behind employment, right? That rings true in our survey results. We asked employees to rank the following benefits from 1 to 5: 

1. Receiving more money per hour
2. Being provided benefits or health insurance
3. Getting paid time off or more time off
4. Working more hours 
5. Getting work schedules further in advance

“Getting paid more per hour” took the top-ranked position. Almost 60% of the voters prioritizing the benefit over the others. Coming in at second and third place were health benefits and paid time off. 

Insight #2: Employers and employees don’t appear to agree. 

Employees believe wage increases and paid leave will have the most positive impact on their lives. Our survey revealed a generally rosy consensus on all of the hot labor law topics in 2020. 

Employers, however, don’t seem to have the same outlook. When compared to the employee rankings of how positive of an impact each regulation would have, it appears that employers underestimate just how much workers would appreciate the changes, particularly when it comes to changing from a 1099 status to a W-2 employee—which is what California’s AB5 law is doing.

Insight #3: Paid leave and predictive scheduling would more positively impact those who don’t already have it. 

Employees who do not currently have paid leave seem to value the benefit more than workers who already have it—which is highlighted by their higher rate of ranking it on the “very positive” side of the spectrum. 

The same goes for predictive scheduling. Employees who currently receive schedules less than one week before their shifts say getting notice further in advance would have a “very positive” impact on their lives more frequently than those who currently get schedules three or more weeks in advance. 

Insight #4: PTO may increase retention the most. 

While employees said receiving more money is most important, 83% of employees said they would stay at a job at an increased rate if an employer offered paid leave. 

That’s not to say minimum wage was forgotten—77% of employees who currently make minimum wage say they would be more likely to remain in their position if the minimum wage was raised.

To point out the difference in opinion, 64% of 1099 contractors said they would consider staying if the employer paid them as a W-2 employee. 

Insight #5: Every bit of advance scheduling matters. 

The majority of employees who receive advance schedules say they are satisfied with the window of time in between the notice and the shift. 

Only 36% of employees who receive their schedules less than one week in advance think they are getting enough time. 

The majority of employees who receive less than 3 weeks of advance notice said a predictive plan would increase retention. 

What does this all mean? 

Whether or not you saw any impact from new legislation, take a look at what matters to your employees. Happy employees make business better. Closing the gap could increase retention and improve both work practices and lifestyles. 

Luckily Homebase has plenty of necessary tools needed to make these changes. For example, our Scheduling App comes equipped with several features that take the worry out of building out shifts—including the option to put your schedule on autopilot so that predictive scheduling becomes a complete non-issue. 

Do you have other concerns about 2020 compliance? We can help with those as well. Homebase HR and Compliance makes it easy to follow the labor laws in your area, and with HR Pro you’ll get live access to certified HR experts who can review your existing policies and help you create new ones.