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  • Essay / The Benefits of a Minimum Wage Increase for Businesses and Employees

    With the inevitable increase in the minimum wage, we should not be afraid of the externalities of this change. There are many good things about raising the minimum wage. According to ClearCompany CEO and co-founder André Lavoie, there are three reasons why we should welcome the minimum wage increase. These three things are: It will help recruit and retain talent, improve employee satisfaction, and improve your company brand (Lavoie). On the contrary, many people are worried about the increase in the minimum wage. They believe it will increase the produce, gas and living expenses we already pay large sums of money for; However, that shouldn't be the only thing that matters. If a company's CEO or an employee's boss has a happier team working for them because of increased benefits, they are more likely to treat employees better. Employers are also less likely to be strict and stingy because everyone is happy and working hard. Paid sick leave and vacation time should be required by employers to maintain high employee retention rates, improve company morale, and promote company productivity. Clearly, employee benefits are extremely important to the employees themselves, as well as the company in which they work. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an Original EssayIn businesses across the United States, employees leave their positions because they are unhappy with the benefits and compensation of their current job. When an employee leaves a position, companies often incur turnover costs which include, but are not limited to, the costs of hiring and training a new employee to replace the one who left the company and make up for the bonuses given to both the new employee and the employee who left their position. Turnover costs can become exponential in large companies that have high turnover, as the average cost of replacing an employee is estimated to be about one-fifth of their salary (National Partnership for Women and Families). This means that for every person who loses an annual salary of fifty thousand dollars, the company must then pay ten thousand dollars in turnover costs on top of the salary it must pay to the newly hired employee. Noticeably, it's not hard to see how these costs can add up if many employees leave, becoming a financial burden on a business, regardless of its size. Employees who are given the opportunity to take paid leave have been shown to return to their pre-leave position. at a rate of ninety-four percent (Boushey, O'Leary and Mitukiewicz). In a study conducted by Eileen Appelbaum and Ruth Milkman in 2009 and 2010, in which surveys of employees in California were conducted, it was shown that "workers in low-quality jobs who used insurance family leave while on leave were more likely to return to work. their employer before furlough – 82.7 percent – ​​than those with poor quality jobs who did not – 73 percent. (Boushey, O'Leary, and Mitukiewicz) In the paid maternity leave space, Google, a company that once offered three months of partially paid maternity leave, has seen postpartum women leave their jobs at the company two times more than other employees. Faced with this figureSurprisingly, Google increased its paid maternity leave to five months of fully paid leave and saw its rate of postpartum women who left their jobs after the birth of their child decrease by fifty percent (Miller). Additionally, eighty-seven percent of California businesses found that paid leave programs reduced costs and increased savings for their business by reducing employee turnover (National Partnership for Women & Families). This figure suggests that California companies that used paid leave programs achieved a similar result to Google in recognizing that many employees leave their positions due to life events and new job opportunities with better social benefits. It is clear that by implementing paid leave, employee retention rates increase and the tax burden due to employee turnover rates is significantly reduced. Furthermore, company morale is extremely important to employee happiness with their employer, thereby creating successful businesses. According to the Harvard Business Review, "the majority of top-performing companies say exemplary benefits programs boost employee loyalty and morale." (National Partnership for Women and Families) For businesses that report low morale, the costs often relate to both money and productivity. Michael Blankenship of Roberts Wesleyan College wrote in “The High Cost of Low Morale by Nicole Fink”: “Gallup estimates that there are 22 million actively disengaged employees, costing U.S. economy up to $350 billion per year in lost productivity, including absenteeism, illness and other problems that arise when employees are unhappy at work. (Blankenship) Naturally, it is pertinent for employees to control low morale issues and their negative repercussions in order to keep the company's operating costs within a manageable range. Paid time off is an excellent solution to limit the financial and productivity effects of low morale. a failing business. For example, New Jersey employers who instituted the statewide paid leave program reported that the program "helped reduce employee stress and improve morale among employees who took leave and their colleagues. (National Partnership for Women and Families) The State of New Jersey's paid leave program not only affects employees who take leave, it also affects co-workers because when an employee's morale is lifted by a leave of absence, other employees will feed off the employee who has high morale. Additionally, according to the National Partnership for Women and Families, “In California, virtually all employers (99%) reported that the state program had positive or neutral effects on employee morale. » (National Partnership for Women and Families) It is important to recognize the State of California paid leave program mentioned in this quote because it shows that the program has not harmed the majority of businesses in the sector interviewed. It is difficult not to recognize the importance of this phenomenon by those skeptical about the establishment of paid leave within a framework imposed by the State. Paid time off has clear and positive benefits, helping to boost company morale and harness the effects of low morale in the workplace. Finally, the implementation of a paid leave program has proven to be beneficial for business productivity. In a survey carried out by Harvard Business Review, it was found.