Hina Javed Malik
Whether it is the fear of missing out on opportunities for advancement or a feeling of guilt for not pulling their weight, studies have shown that not all millennials are working remotely. It’s a shame as young professionals are not paying attention to creating their own adventures and learning more about themselves. This is because there are still many leaders and companies that have not realized the value of letting their employees commute less and travel more. More travel has been shown to increase productivity at work and helps to build confidence through broader life experiences.
The co-founder of Giveback Homes Caroline Pinal has created a socially good real estate company and has built hundreds of homes for people who are in need across the U.S. Mexico, Puerto Rico, and Nicaragua.
Pinal’s motive is to work with real estate agents and brokerages in order to provide them with impactful volunteer opportunities as well as projects to donate to and support. In order to help with philanthropic endeavors, the company has also offered its community marketing and communication tools with its social connections.
According to Pinal, her favorite part of the program is leading a group of realtors in Nicaragua which helps build homes once or twice a year for families in need. But Pinal didn’t have always the resources to make her dream come true. When she found her job at TOMS, she was sent on a giving trip to EI Salvador where she was responsible for distributing shoes to children in need.
The opportunity made her meet her now best friend Blake Andrews who worked at the company with her. It was then that after a few years, both applied the idea of the TOMS model to the real estate world. Together they founded Giveback Homes focused on building homes and getting people out of their comfort zones in order to connect them with people from other countries that will forever inspire them to do more. Paid volunteer opportunities for employees are not a part of every company except a few bigger companies such as IBM, Salesforce, Timberland, and Patagonia.
The impact of the smaller companies starting offering paid volunteer opportunities to their employees would be big and will be a lot in helping for changing the lives of employees around the world.
Following are the four reasons why employees should be offered such flexibility in their work:
1. Increased engagement:
When employees are engaged in some kind of program, they really feel inspired. The work refreshes their ability to learn more and do more which makes them more productive at work.
2. Improved employee retention:
In companies where employees are offered flexibility in schedule and work-from-home opportunities, employee retention improves. This becomes really helpful for millennials who approach a lifestyle that is more unconventional.
3. Different forms of networking:
Networking by living in one city is not much interesting but when it comes to traveling it is very exciting. Networking goes to a whole new level when people travel from one city to another and meet people whom they have never met before. These connections bring numerous benefits to businesses.
4. highest rate of engagement:
People assume that the work of people who travel more never gets done but that is not true. Sitting at a desk for hours is not at all a motivating environment for employees to focus on their work. Most of the ideas, reading, and writing for many people are done better when they are traveling to different places. According to studies, employees who spent 60-80% of their time away from the office have the highest rates of engagement.
