How Quantifying Work-life Benefits Can Increase Organizational Attraction

Abstract: In today's competitive labor market, organizations often struggle to attract top talent without resorting to higher salaries or costly incentives. This research explores a novel, cost-effective approach for addressing this concern: monetizing the value of employer-provided work-life benefits in job advertisements. Drawing on signalling theory and leveraging job seekers’ tendency to focus on financial compensation, we hypothesize that communicating the financial value of employer-provided benefits will increase job seekers' interest and positively shape employer perceptions. Across a field experiment (N=667), a study of job-seeking business school students (N=260), and an experiment with diverse set of employees online (N=596) reveal that this strategy operates through a symbolic signalling channel, demonstrating organizational concern for employee well-being and work-life balance. Our findings contribute to signalling theory in recruitment contexts, shed light on how to leverage cognitive tendencies to shape employer perceptions, and provide practical insight for talent acquisition strategists.

Keywords: work-life benefits, decision-making, quantification, organizational attraction