The design and media agency Riktig Spor has put in place a new measure to increase well-being among its employees. Everyone who works there gets a day off on their birthday. Rasmus Vikan is project manager in Riktig Spor, and the first birthday child in the line. – Are you looking forward to your birthday a little extra this year? – It’s nice to have your birthday off. Then there will be a little more time to relax or prepare a celebration, says Vikan. – It is important to have an attractive workplace where the employees feel comfortable. Then we think it’s a nice treat to be at home and enjoy yourself on your birthday, says Brita Bjørnbakk, general manager of Riktig Spor. MORE ATTRACTIVE WORKPLACE: General manager Brita Bjørnbakk introduces an extra day off to increase well-being in the workplace. Photo: Malin Nygård Solberg / news Bjørnbakk believes it is still important to celebrate a little at work, even if the employees get their birthday off. – So we celebrate with cake on another day as well. She says the employees are still allowed to come to work if they wish, and that they can choose to take another day off instead. – One of the employees thinks it’s very nice to come to work on his birthday, and of course gets to choose another day off. Employees with a birthday on a public holiday or other day off can also choose another day off. BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION: – It’s important to celebrate something at work, says Brita Bjørnbakk, general manager of Riktig Spor. Photo: Private Egg Thursday and Super Mario – I thought it was a great initiative as well as making them stand out. Absolutely brilliant. Karoline Rosøy Tømmerbakk is a recruitment consultant and head of department at Personalhuset Nord-Norge. Tømmerbakk believes it is important to stand out in what she calls the worst recruitment market of all time. Tømmerbakk has previously recruited for Riktig Spor: – They are one of those companies that are good at creating an attractive workplace. Photo: Malin Nygård Solberg / news At the end of January, there are 1,782 completely unemployed jobseekers in Nordland. This is the lowest January unemployment ever. – Before, we advertised positions and people applied. Now half the job is active candidate searches, where we look for, and contact, relevant employees to recommend that they apply. She says well-being in the workplace has become essential for today’s applicants. – I have seen companies entice with everything from eggs on Thursdays to developer LEGO and Super Mario tournaments. Do fringe benefits matter to you when looking for a job? Bjørn Wiik, Executive Vice President at Adecco has worked with recruitment since the end of the 80s, and cannot remember such a great shortage of labor as there is now. – We are experiencing a historically high deficit in qualified labor and businesses all over the country are struggling to recruit people. MORE PERFECTS: Bjørn Wiik believes that it has become more common to offer fringe benefits: – There has clearly been an increase after the corona pandemic was over. Photo: Adecco – Employers must have staffing, and then you are willing to go the extra mile, says Wiik. He, too, has observed that employers try to attract workers with benefits other than wages. – Many employers now entice with very competitive conditions, and in some cases also benefits such as training grants, free activities every week, contractual travel and discount agreements on culture and experiences. More important with the tariff – It sounds nice to have time off on birthdays, but what is important to us is that it does not come at the expense of conditions laid down in laws, rules and the tariff. RATHER ON THE PAY SLIP: Tomasgard says the money spent on fringe benefits should rather be spent on wages and working conditions. Photo: Trond Isaksen / LO That’s what Are Tomasgard in LO’s management says. – Salary, pension and working conditions will always be more important than fringe benefits, says Tomasgard. He says that when you compare workplaces, these are the ones you should look at. – Fringe benefits cost money, which we would rather see on the employee’s payslip. Will probably come to work anyway Vikan i Riktig Spor thinks the day off on his birthday is a creative initiative from his employer, and thinks it’s good to have an extra day off. – This year my birthday is on a Friday, and on Fridays we usually have cake in the office, so I might still come to work for a little while.
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Rasmus gets time off work as a birthday present – news Nordland
