Relocating for a new job or new role can be overwhelming for anyone - moving of any kind is often stressful and disruptive, but even more so when relocating to a new city, state or country. Not to mention the uncertainty and unknowns that await: Will I be able to find my way around? How will I find a new favorite brunch spot? Will I make any friends?
For people already plagued by fears of loneliness, considering a move to another city or state can be absolutely terrifying, and many candidates/employees will decline the offer simply due to fear of increased loneliness.
According to several studies, there’s an entire generation of today’s workers who are already suffering from extreme loneliness, and in fact loneliness is the number 1 fear of young people today - even ahead of losing a home or job. At the same time, millennials make up 40% of the current workforce, and are critical to candidate recruiting strategies. So how do you attract them to jobs that will require relocation when their instinct is to stay where they’re comfortable?
Aside from the usual relo benefits, you may need to think more strategically about non-standard incentives. This is becoming more common in competitive recruiting offers as well as relocation offers for key employees in order to increase acceptance rates, and can include things like pet shipment, increased home-finding assistance, or other benefits.
If your recruiting, hiring, or general organizational success is dependent on relocation, and the millennial generation is a huge talent pool for you, you need to think outside the box to attract them. So what does this talent pool look like?
According to PEW Research Center, 56% of millennials were unmarried in 2019 - the highest proportion of any generation to date. That leads us to consider that a common part of many relocation packages are “trailing spouse benefits”. In fact, 40% of organizations provide some type of relocation assistance to partners, but that definition is typically limited to a legally-recognized spouse - traditionally referred to as a “trailing spouse”. For unmarried millennials, those partner benefits are unavailable. But what about best friends, siblings or other family members?